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Matt Buser may represent Grammy- and award-winning clients who others could only dream of working with, but his Floridian law firm Buser Legal stands out as one of the best in the business for a reason — his desire to help musicians master mental health in the entertainment world. To find out more, we caught up with the #NotYourAverageLawyer to find out the reasons behind the need to combat mental health and what he's doing to change that.
For years, there has been a long romanticized bond between the entertainment world and crumbling mental health. But while society and any lover of pop culture idolize the idea of the "tortured genius trope," the truth is far more deceptive.
A 2022 Forbes article revealed that "several studies showed people working in the performing arts are twice as likely to experience depression as the general population." With a shocking 73% of independent musicians struggling with mental illness alone, this figure has since only climbed to 80% when researchers focused solely on the 18-25 age group.
Today, not only are we losing talented artists "to suicide, overdoses, and violence — the lives of many more musicians are becoming miserable by anxiety, depression, addiction, and other psychiatric conditions."
From stage fright to irregular sleeping patterns, feeling drained and devalued, to sexual harassment to rampant gun violence, the urgent need for mental health reform and consideration in the music business is long overdue.
In life, it's not to deny that a particularly tough time happened. Still, after sitting down for a quick catch-up, we learned from entertainment attorney Matt Buser that there is power in overcoming or avoiding it altogether – we just need a positive mental mindset.
After all, the strength and success that yield from having both are worldly.
"I handle three main areas of the law: contracts, corporate formation and governance, and brand protection by way of federal trademarks in the U.S.," says the #NotYourAverageLawyer Matt Buser.
He continues, "When I represent celebrities, I embed positivity, mental health and awareness, manifestation, personal faith, and spirituality into their lives. These are important to my wife and I from a personal standpoint, and are things I inevitably inject into my legal counseling too."
As someone who closely supports numerous A-list clientele in the music, fashion, film/TV, fine arts, adult entertainment, influencer, and professional sports space, as well as players in the NFT/crypto universe and the legal cannabis market, witnessing these shifts and transformations is what matters most.
To get to the bottom of why the entertainment industry should take this seriously, Matt Buser dives into three reasons why mental health reform is necessary in today's ever-changing world:
1. Talent With a Positive Mindset Can Inspire Others to Follow Suit
The entertainment industry continues to bring talented and influential people to the forefront. With their name and reputation constantly in the spotlight, dealing with pressures unknown to many may cause celebrities to fall out of touch with their inner power.
However, when musicians, talent, and creatives tap into this power, they can impact millions of people who look up to them. In turn, when talent sees and acts upon the greater good within, they can inspire their following to help further domino such greater good.
For Buser, strong relationships, communication, and collaboration with people who actively try and unearth these thoughts are critical to keeping any positive mindset active.
Buser achieves this by "helping clients determine their goals early. This will help them stay on track when things don't go as planned. Setting goals can aid in navigating their life journey," explains Buser.
Dealing with the unexpected is also commonplace for anyone in the industry, and when it comes to facing the downsides, individuals can often turn to anger, violence, or harm.
2. With a Mindful Mindset, Artists Can Reduce Internal and External Violence
It is almost impossible in our modern age to be "naturally" positive — especially for celebrities who face a multitude of hate online. There is so much fear, scarcity, violence, resistance, apathy, and other harmful things thrown, from the television and newspapers to personal pressures from family or friends.
For this reason, pursuing a positive mindset and attitude is necessary, as it will lead to an assured daily lifestyle.
"I would like to think anger and violence would reduce if talent had other ways of resolving disputes internally and externally," shares Buser. "While dialogue will eliminate frustration and feelings of being restricted, we provide clients multiple paths to reach revolutionary resolutions efficiently and effectively."
But how can this be done? By utilizing tools to remain focused, calm, and collected in adversity. To understand what specific stress and life management tools any creatives can incorporate daily, we contacted one of California's top-rated and certified life and empowerment coaches, Laina Caltagirone.
"Intention, conscious consumption, positive outlets, and healthy habits," shares the master of modern spirituality, mindset, and manifestation Caltagirone.
"For the first tool, artists can bring intention into their life by asking themselves powerful questions like what kind of example do I want to be for others? How do I want to navigate challenges? What outcomes do I want to create? From here, start matching your actions as best you can with these intentions and keep them top of mind."
Caltagirone continues, "Next, we need to be intentional about what we consume daily, for example, choosing to distance ourselves from overly hostile, violent, and destructive content. To further guide you, choose your inner circle wisely so that your conversations are inspiring and positive."
"Finally, have a self-care plan to tap into your mind, body, and soul. Enlist help like coaches or therapists, or source positive outlets to channel negative emotions or thoughts, like workouts you love doing or making time for hobbies you enjoy."
3. More Opportunities for Creators Will Arise If They Make Themselves Accessible
One word: manifestation. For creators who want something to show up in their business or the type of person they wish to be, they need to expand and make their future dream a present fact by assuming the feeling of the wish being fulfilled.
So, like the famous quote from Wayne W. Dyer states, "live in the feeling of being the one you want to be." Because as soon as you start feeling abundant and worthy, you will begin to generate a life-long feeling of wealth. From being empowered, you will begin to step toward your success.
A positive mindset that stretches into mental mind strategies can broaden horizons and present more opportunities. For example, having a mental health reform in the music industry will make "clients more reachable, not linear," suggests Buser. "They become mentally and physically reachable, allowing more personal growth and prosperity to flower."
Ultimately, as we sail through this crazy whirlwind of life, whether we like it or not, we will experience setbacks. Stretching in all areas of your life, these setbacks may take us down emotionally.
Still, with a powerful positive mental mindset, nothing can stop us.
This is why the need for mental health reform in the music space and beyond is dire. But the opportunities to change the world couldn't be more accessible.
By working with people who value your time, mind, and grind, transforming negative, devalued, stressed mindsets into solid and positive go-doers, the entertainment industry as we know it will forever change for the greater good.
To dive deeper into the genius behind Matt Buser, tap on his Instagram. For more information on how Buser Legal creates a positive legal home for its clients, connect with him here.