To a musical artist, music is everything. All of life is approached from an audial perspective. Every song heard on the radio is analyzed and broken down. Musicians are guided through life by their ears; their inlet for creative talent. Musicians who succeed in the music industry are very passionate and driven, and give everything they are to their original music. But oddly, the pursuit of music can be a blessing and a curse. The soulful calling of musicianship often leads into a certain kind of lifestyle – one that is very prominent in the music industry. Addiction and substance abuse have tragically claimed the lives and careers of some of the best musicians who ever lived. The very thing that inspires a musician’s life work is also the thing that will introduce them to a dangerous lifestyle.
When a musician is first starting out, they are incredibly driven and optimistic. Their focus is as sharp as it will ever be, which is what a life of pursuing music can do for a person. Music has been called the activity that uses more of the human brain than any other activity. It can be a career, a passion, or both. Most young musicians claim that they are driven to strive for excellence in music for the sake of the music itself, not for the rock star lifestyle. However, once they are accepted into the music industry, their priorities often change.
The music industry can be a very harsh world, and many who discover it do not remain unscathed. Any entertainment celebrity, including musicians, must face pressures, criticisms and temptations in their chosen profession. Society thinks of performers as commodities and pressures them to be above the trials of everyday life in order to keep them entertained. Critics can be brutally harsh and destructive on a sensitive musician’s psyche. In light of these hardships, musicians look for a means of escape and frequently choose addiction or substance abuse. Every kind of pleasureful vice available is offered to musicians in excess, and sometimes they are sucked deep into a lifestyle that they cannot escape from. Some recover and turn back to their music – the thing that originally inspired them. But some are not so lucky and lose their careers and even their lives to addiction and substance abuse.