Spotify Brings Nashville’s Songwriting Community Together for Mental Health Summit
Spotify recently welcomed songwriters, artists, executives, and music students to Nashville for a Mental Health & Songwriter Summit. The event was an extension of our ongoing Heart & Soul, Mental Health for Creators initiative, which offers tools, care, and space to reflect on the emotional side of creative life.
The summit at Belmont University’s Fisher Center was held in partnership with Backline and powered by BetterHelp, the world’s largest online mental health platform. It brought together nearly 200 members of the songwriting community for a day of conversation, resources, and shared experiences centered on mental health in the music industry.
During the event, Spotify and Backline unveiled Between the Lines, a vital mental health guide for songwriters developed by Backline’s clinical team. Blending reflection with practical support, the guide offers songwriters a way to stay grounded, care for their wellbeing, and sustain a meaningful connection to their craft as it grows and changes over time.
Supporting the people behind the songs
The music industry is deeply rewarding, but it can also come with long hours, uncertainty, and emotional pressure that isn’t always visible. As we’ve shared through our Heart & Soul work, these realities can shape mental health in ways that are difficult to name, especially for songwriters working behind the scenes.
This summit was designed to meet that moment, bringing the community together not just to talk about challenges, but to share resources and build stronger support systems.
A day of conversation and connection
The programming kicked off with “The Unsung Heroes,” a panel exploring the rejection, comparison, and quiet pressures that come with songwriting and song plugging. Moderated by MusicRow’s LB Cantrell, the conversation featured Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Gabe Simon, hit songwriter Emily Weisband, Sony Music Publishing Nashville CEO Rusty Gaston, and Jessi Vaughn Stevenson, founder of Perfect Game Creative.
From there, Christopher O’Reilly, Owner, Remedy Counseling & Wellness, led an interactive session on emotional regulation, giving attendees practical tools they could take into the studio and beyond.
The afternoon’s “Creativity on Demand” panel explored how to live a consistent, balanced, healthy lifestyle while sustaining creative inspiration, pushing back on the idea that one needs to suffer to make great art. Moderated by Debbie Carroll, Executive Director of Belmont’s Center for Mental Health in Entertainment, the panel featured Old Dominion‘s Brad Tursi, singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun, genre-blending artist Breland, and hit songwriter Barry Dean.
The day closed with a fireside chat between songwriter Steph Jones and Spotify’s Songwriter and Publisher Partnerships Lead, Alex Tamashunas, for a candid conversation on identity, balance, and creative longevity.
“I think it is so deeply important to keep the conversation of mental health an open and honest one,” said Jones. “I’m really glad I had the opportunity to share my experiences at this event and hear others’ as well.”
In-person support
Local organizations including MusiCares, Porter’s Call, Onsite, Family Alliance in Music, and Belmont’s Center for Mental Health in Entertainment took to the stage to share the resources they offer for songwriters and spoke directly with those in the room.
Beyond the onstage programming, the summit offered support people could use right away. A dedicated wellness space, curated by Backline and powered by BetterHelp, gave songwriters the opportunity to connect with wellness practitioners and take a moment to rest and reset. Backline provided pathways to ongoing care through their Case Management program, Global Resource Hub, and B-LINE, the music industry’s 24/7 crisis and support line, while BetterHelp extended access to continued mental health support beyond the event.
Continuing the work
The Nashville summit and launch of Between the Lines is one step in Spotify’s broader commitment to supporting the music community, not just in their work, but in their wellbeing. Through Heart & Soul, we’ll continue to invest in resources, partnerships, and conversations that help artists, songwriters, and their teams navigate the realities of creative life.
