GovernmentYard wrote:
Some artists are worth more dead than alive.
There is really no reason why the rehabilitation services available at The Priory are going to be any better than anywhere else, on an average day - good workers in the field are in it for the life-saving, not the money I can promise you that. Maybe a few guys at the top make more sorting out popstars but think about all those that we know go into the priory and aren't sorted afterwards - it's not a miracle cure for the affluent.
And again, I can't stress this enough - an addiction in and of itself can be cured, right enough. It's not even that costly a thing in the grand scheme of medicine... but the aftercare, the networks - they're what sustain recovery and a rich person is far less likely to be able to maintain access to those with their work commitments - the very idea of any of my clients going on tour a fortnight after coming out of detox is hilarious. I know of ONE such celeb who manages it - a world renowned, superstar famous actor who attends AA meetings in South Wales, when he's back in the country. Turns a few heads when he walks in, but he was so powerful he could dictate his schedule. Others can't and the tragedy is they don't often realise the option would be there if they knocked the career on the head for a year or two.
I've worked in promotions, PR and radio, and I've worked for longer in substance misuse and mental health charities, alongside frontline workers, consultant psychiatrists in recovery units... and I'd not say one group of clients has an easier time of it addiction wise than the other. The main difference is that I was on steadier money in the latter and I've never been mithered for drugs by one of my clients in the voluntary sector.
Quoted in full so people can read it for a second time. I would nom it for POTW but it needs some jokes.
The aftercare thing is important. As you identify it's down to the will of the management to make this happen. However I fear in the music industry the artiste is a cash cow who they want to squeeze. And after all, we all know that these people are worth more dead than alive anyway. No doubt the record company will be preparing an "unreleased material" album as soon as a suitable amount of time has past. It's what the public want you understand.