Music & Marketing: URBANIZED!

50 dropped over 50 pounds for his starring role in the upcoming movie Things Fall Apart. In the film adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s classic, 50 plays a football player who’s been diagnosed with cancer. This man is the epitome of dedication.


from therapup.net

Listen to Kanye West's new track featuring Dwele called "Power" from the upcoming album 'Good Ass Job'.

from AZCentral.com

Zack de la Rocha has issued a statement on behalf of an organization called the Sound Strike urging music fans and fellow artists to boycott Arizona "to stop SB 1070," which he labels an "odious" law.

Among those artists joining de la Rocha's boycott are Conor Oberst, Kanye West, Rage Against the Machine, Rise Against, Cypress Hill, Serj Tankian, Joe Satriani, Sonic Youth, Tenacious D, Street Sweeper Social Club and Michael Moore.

In de la Rocha's words, the new law "sanctions racial profiling, straight up," forcing "cops to hunt down and target anyone they 'reasonably suspect' that may be undocumented. And if the people they harass don't have proof that they were born in the U.S., they can be detained and arrested."

He goes on to note that "Some of us grew up dealing with racial profiling, but this law (SB 1070) takes it to a whole new low. If other states follow the direction of the Arizona government, we could be headed towards a pre-civil rights era reality. This unjust law was set into motion by the same Arizona government that refused to acknowledge Martin Luther King Jr. day as a national holiday. When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, they arrested her. As a result, people got together and said we are not going to ride the bus until they change the law. It was this courageous action that sparked the Montgomery bus boycott. What if we got together, signed a collective letter saying, 'We're not going to ride the bus?' "

The website includes a petition urging President Barack Obama to take action.

"Arizona's new law is an assault on the US Constitution and an affront to the civil rights that were earned by generations who came before us," the petition reads. "When states disregard the Constitution, when they sanction mistreatment of communities, it is the imperative of the Executive Branch to take the lead in defending the U.S. Constitution."

The Sound Strike's call to boycott follows recent protest cancellations by Cuban-American rapper Pitbull and Latino rappers Cypress Hill. A Phoenix New Times blog says this latest development feels like it's "only the tip of the iceberg," while AEG Live president/CEO Randy Phillips told Billboard he believes "the economic impact on the state from losing even a couple of tours might be enough for the legislature and the governor to realize that there is still a political concept called the tyranny of the majority which is just as dangerous to our democracy as illegal immigration, maybe more so."

The goal of recruiting is to find the right person at the right time. Logically, that means one source is never enough. You’ll want to tap into diverse mediums to find the best candidates. Social media is no exception. Each platform has its own unique demographic. You’ll want to consider that audience when making the decision about which applications to use for your recruiting efforts.

Regardless of the application, there are some common elements to using social media for recruiting. Here are six things to consider when using any social media application for recruiting.
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1. Create an Online Presence That Reflects Who You Are
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Having a nice avatar, succinct bio and current contact information will make people want to connect with you. Be sure to organize your social media profiles to provide potential contacts with a better idea of who you are so they have a reason to communicate with you and form a relationship.

“It’s about being human”, explains Bill Boorman, author of the Recruiting Unblog. “People connect with people, not brands. Connect with everyone because you never know who will make that referral or connection for you.”

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2. Make the Most of Your Time
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A large part of any success with social media is involvement. This is especially true if you want to use social media for recruiting. While mobile applications can help with this, Boorman agrees, “It takes a big investment of time to build a talent community.” To target your efforts, he suggests asking people directly which channels they use and looking at what your competitors are doing. “Consider directing your messages to a single point, like a relevant blog or company website.”

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3. Individualize Your Approach
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At some point, you have to connect with people you don’t know and become a part of their conversations. “I actually find it easy,” says Chris Havrilla national recruiting manager for Hitachi Consulting, a global leader in delivering business and IT strategies. “I have found if you communicate with people in a meaningful and thoughtful manner, you can never go wrong.”

Havrilla’s approach is to connect with people who have a genuine interest in his business and industry. “I follow or connect with people related to that space, ‘listen’ to and learn from the conversations, and participate when appropriate. If you are connecting with someone directly, be ‘individualized’ in your approach — take the time to understand who you are reaching out to and be respectful of their time and attention.”

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4. Be Authentic
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Recruiters always want to see the ‘real candidate’ and in order to do that, they have to be real as well. Amanda Hite, founder and CEO of Talent Revolution Inc., says when it comes to social media: “Remember it’s NOT about the tools it’s ALL about the relationships.”

So don’t be afraid to be yourself. Hite adds, “Being the authentic, unapologetic you is totally on trend. But more importantly when you embrace your own authenticity and stay committed to ‘being you’ no matter what, you’ll attract the kind of clients and employees that do the same and are the best match for you.”

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5. Share Interesting Stuff
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All work and no play is boring. So sharing news, tidbits, etc. of general interest can create what might be the equivalent of “social media small talk,” which leads to bigger conversations. Sylvia Dahlby works for SmartSearch, a leading talent acquisition system and recruiting business software solution firm. She works from home and lives in Hawaii. “Before social network sites like Twitter() and LinkedIn(), I belonged to dozens of old-style online newsgroups. Now, I leverage the new social networks much in the same way,” Sylvia explains it’s still important to interact with others.

One of the things Sylvia mentioned was her Twitter account because she mixes her recruiting knowledge with Hawaii tidbits. “My Twitter() account is for personal branding and making connections. I mostly tweet about my work, my product and the recruiting industry during business hours, chat with friends and business associates throughout the day, and throw in a mix of my hobbies and certain interests (such as Hawaiiana). I treat Twitter as my office ‘water cooler’ or after-hours ‘cocktail party’ where I can catch the news and buzz from people in various online communities around the world.”

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6. Focus on Substance
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If someone directs a question at you via social media, find a way to respond, even if it’s to take the conversation offline. “The key is substance,” says Steve Browne, executive director of human resources for LaRosa’s Inc., a Cincinnati based regional pizzeria with 63 locations. “I’d recommend people using social media for recruiting [focused] on substance and not just resume information. Look at how the candidate is connected in the social media arena, and are they contributing to their profession, or just lurking. If they’re engaged online, chances are they would be engaged working for your company.”

Many recruiters realize that when it comes to recruiting, social media tools are just that – tools. The real value is in how the tools are used. Havrilla explains, “Social media can give you a great and efficient way to engage with your community – candidates, clients, customers, partners, prospects, etc. – on a very level playing field with the companies you are competing with for talent (or business). The key is to make sure you have the time to invest in to it. At a very basic level this is all about networking. The use of social media tools has greatly enhanced my ability to build, grow, and nurture my network. These tools are not a magic bullet though — to get value from your network, you have to add value to it.”

I've been asked about this topic quite a few times, so I decided to post a tutorial to help out my fellow producers. This tutorial from www.winksound.com shows you how to use Reason in Protools with Rewire. This is great if you ever wanted to incorporate the sounds from Reason with live instrumentation recorded in Protools, and/or any other music software you may use for production. Check it out!