The Why.

My name is David Andreone. I’m a successful entertainment executive, and I struggle with my mental health.

Why do I care about the mental health of artists and creatives?

Because I’m a creative too — it’s all I’ve done, it’s all I know. And to one degree or another, I contend with my own mental health issues.

My flavor was anxiety. As a kid, I was wracked with abject panic most mornings before school started. In high school and college, the feelings only grew, and crescendoed with me being fired from “my first big job” right out of college (before being let go, I was asked, “Are you on drugs, young man?” I was not, but my behavior suggested otherwise).

I eventually learned to not only keep my music industry jobs, but to thrive quite handsomely at the same time (getting lucky with that vexing art versus commerce paradigm). For nearly a decade, I was responsible for signing multiple multi-platinum artists, being quoted regularly in the trades, winning various awards, and more. But at this peak, I was still dealing with the same panic, insecurities and fears I knew all my life. How did my panic manifest? Many ways — but one that comes to mind is how I would be so anxious before my artists would perform that I would often secretly (and quite literally) vomit in the venue bathroom stall before my artists would hit the stage. Glamorous, right?

Being in these glorified trenches since my early 20s, working alongside writers, composers, performers, artists, and visionary creatives for the last 30+ years, I couldn’t help but noticing that the very same symptoms were presenting time and time again among my artistic friends and peers: debilitating anxiety, persistent depression, imposter syndrome, creative blocks, relationship problems, self-medicating behaviors, and more. Add in the (omni-) presence of “the entertainment machine”, which demands a consistent artistic output along with a model of ever-increasing monetization: well, the model is fatally flawed, and the pressure can break even the strongest among us.

(And it sadly has. I’ve needlessly lost so many friends and associates to premature deaths of all types.)

But I found help -- through integrative psychotherapy that was specifically tailored to and informed by the ups, downs and middles that come with being a creative in LA (or Nashville, London, or New York). I learned that I was not only not alone, but that I was actually in great company. I came to see that most of the artists, creatives and creative executives I emulated felt what I felt. My “weakness,” for which I had previously held so much shame, was now an asset I managed, and even exploited to my benefit (more on that later, but I learned to flip the proverbial script, and turn what previously tormented and held me back into something that not only nurtured my creative instincts, but fueled even greater professional success).

True compassion is rarely associated with the entertainment industry. More than ever, the industry is cold, and driven by data and ROI (and this was the case even before AI). The industry props up young artists, and just as quickly abandons them. The industry is disingenuous, performative, and rarely takes care of its own. The conditional love and acclaim hinges on variables outside of everyone’s control, and the result is a dizzying lack of control.

ArtistServices is your antidote to the industry. ArtistServices is a refuge for artists and creatives to regain agency, increase self-confidence and develop peak mental wellness. When your emotional and mental parts are well tended by people who intimately understand the context in which you live and work, the rest elegantly falls into place: physically, spiritually, relationally, and professionally.

That is the why.