Australian study finds that musicians die earlier than general population

It has long been said that music stars live fast and die young, Now an Australian study adds credibility to the adage, finding American musicians die up to 25 years earlier than the general population.

"This is clear evidence that all is not well in pop music land," said the University of Sydney's Dianna Kenny, who analysed the deaths of 12,665 predominantly male American musicians since 1950.

Kenny believes the study is the first of its kind in capturing the life spans of popular artists over the seven decades, with her research covering genres, from jazz to Christian pop to punk.

The psychology and music professor found that pop stars' accidental-death rates were between five and 10 times greater than the general US population, while suicide rates were between two and seven times higher.

Homicide rates were up to eight times greater than the wider population, she added.

The study found "across the seven decades studied, popular musicians' life spans were up to 25 years shorter than the comparable US population", she said.