ICT IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS

Like all other professional fields, music cannot ignore the importance of ICT. The music industry relies a lot on IT right from doing collaborative projects to sales, distribution and marketing. It has been proven that more people buy music on line through downloads on ITunes, Amazon, Spotify, Beats music and many other popular online digital music stores and increasingly less people buy CDS from music stores the traditional method of selling music.
Ugandan artists like Jay-P are not taking the importance of IT lightly especially the internet as it can mean the difference between success and failure as far as the sales, distribution and marketing of a single or music album is concerned.
When people Google search, Yahoo or Bing a business or an artist’s name, the first results to show matter a lot. Most people look at only the first page of the search results so in order to make it easy for your fans to find you and your content, you have to invest time and work with the right people to make sure you dominate the first page of the search results.
Jay-P was able to do long distance projects on his albums “The Unreleased Cut” 2011 and “Credibly Evident” 2012-2013 doing songs, distributing and selling downloads on the leading media stores like ITunes, Amazon, Spotify and Beats music among others. Publishing in the music business is just as important as distribution.
To get your music and videos on those stores, you have to go through an aggregate partner like distrokid, cdbaby, ditto, reverb nation among others. They obviously charge an ample fee for that but it’s well worth it. Having quality recordings is key and music that can penetrate both the local and international scenes will definitely do better.
When your music is live on those stores, you have to go ahead and spread the word about your music through the social media like facebook, twitter and you tube. You may have to part with some money for advertising to reach the kind of people who actually like your kind of music.
A very powerful tool for a musician is utilizing the power of email marketing. Build an email list where you can send news letters to your fans, send updates regarding your music. You can build a list on your own or opt to use established email marketers like Live Intent who will help you reach millions of urban music fans for a reasonable fee.
With that in mind, go ahead and make your musical career a success.

MARILYN MONROE: THE LIFE COVERS, 1952-1962

While the legend of Marilyn Monroe will always be closely associated with LIFE — her first cover shoot for the magazine, in April 1952, made by the great Philippe Halsman, remains one of the most famous and collectible covers in the history of the magazine — it might surprise some people to learn how seldom she actually appeared in the magazine itself.

There’s little question that LIFE recognized Marilyn’s singular, profound appeal from early on in her career, but she only graced LIFE’s cover six times while she was alive. (She appeared on several more covers after her death in August 1962, including later editions after the magazine ceased publishing as a weekly.) Six times — that’s fewer than Dwight Eisenhower, for example, while Liz Taylor holds the record with fourteen appearances on the cover of the premier photographic magazine of the age.

[Buy the LIFE book, Remembering Marilyn.]

And yet . . . when one considers that Marilyn’s run of six covers occurred during a span of a mere 10 years, and that had she lived she might well have challenged Taylor’s supremacy, her close connection to the magazine — and, by extension, her centrality to the American conversation around fame, celebrity, sex and media in the 20th century — is cast in a much clearer, brighter light.

On top of all that, when one recalls that several of her covers are regarded as classics — her debut and a later Halsman, from 1959, of her jumping, glancing back over shoulder; the Ed Clark shot from 1953 featuring Marilyn and Jane Russell in form-fitting red sequined dresses; a Lawrence Schiller shot of a smiling Marilyn by a pool in June 1962, just two months before her death — the notion that Marilyn helped define what LIFE looked and felt like in the 1950s takes on far greater force.

(Speaking of the 1950s, please note what might be the most incongruous clash of word-and-image ever to appear on the cover of LIFE — or on the cover of any magazine, for that matter. In the very first slide in the gallery, and quite easily overlooked by anyone whose eyes are, understandably, drawn solely to the gorgeous woman gazing out from the April 17, 1952, issue of LIFE, one can read these rather dramatic, if head-scratching, words: THERE IS A CASE FOR INTERPLANETARY SAUCERS.

Indeed? There really is a case for flying saucers? Well, well. Fascinating. Now, if we can just get back to this rising young actress named Marilyn Monroe . . .)

In the end, the LIFE covers on which Marilyn appeared — we’re featuring seven here in this gallery, as well as spreads from the articles that accompanied them — are really just reminders of what a true movie star looked like six long decades ago. Seen today, more than 50 years after her death at the age of 36, do these pictures of Marilyn assume another, deeper resonance than they might have had for, say, a LIFE subscriber in Omaha or Minneapolis or a small town in North Carolina encountering them for the first time?

Probably, yes. But if we can, even for a little while, look at these LIFE covers of Marilyn with fresh eyes, keeping at bay the knowledge of what ultimately lay in store for the still-young, troubled, enigmatic superstar, there’s a chance that we, too, can see them all over again, as if for the very first time.

http://life.time.com/icons/marilyn-monroe-life-magazine-covers-photos/#1

Rihanna Quits Instagram

After her account was temporarily disabled, Rihanna has quit Instagram entirely. There will be no more pics of @badgalRiRi smoking two joints the size of your forearm in Amsterdam. No more pics of RiRi draped in furs in front of fireplaces, flashing her diamond studded grill, or lounging in barely-there bikinis on boats.

In the meantime, some imposters have created fake accounts for the star and she is not amused.According to E-Online, Rihanna quit Instagram after the site accidentally disabled her account. IG is known for policing photos that are too racy and either deleting them or closing the account entirely. The photo sharing company told E that in Rihanna’s case it was a glitch. “This account was mistakenly caught in one of our automated systems and very briefly disabled. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

http://music-mix.ew.com/2014/05/20/rihanna-quits-instagram/

Beyonce, Jay Z Announce On The Run Summer Stadium Tour

The Carters have officially announced their rumored joint tour. Beyonce and Jay Z will head out on a 16-date stadium tour they're calling On The Run, to kickoff in Miami on June 25th and wrap in San Francisco on August 5. The tour is sponsored by Chase.

Chase cardholders as well as Beyonce Fan Club members will be granted access to a ticket pre-sale tomorrow, April 29, at 10AM. General pre-sale will be available at 10AM on May 1. $1 from each ticket sale will be donated to the Shawn Carter Foundation, which provides scholarships to underserved students. The donations are in partnership with Beyonce's #BeyGOOD initiative, which supports a number of charities.

The couple recently made surprise appearances during the first weekend of Coachella, with Beyonce popping in during her sister Solange's set and Jay Z dropping by Nas' midnight set in Indio.

Jay Z's tour with Justin Timberlake in 2013 brought in an average of $5 million a night, according to Billboard Boxscore.

June 25 -- Miami, FL (Sun Life Stadium)
June 28 -- Cincinnati, OH (Great American Ballpark)
July 1 -- Foxborough, MA (Gillette Stadium)
July 5 -- Philadelphia, PA (Citizen's Bank Park)
July 7 -- Baltimore, MD (M & T Bank Stadium)
July 9 -- Toronto, ON (Rogers Centre)
July 11 -- East Rutherford, NJ (MetLife Stadium)
July 15 -- Atlanta, GA (Georgia Dome)
July 18 -- Houston, TX (Minute Maid Park)
July 20 -- New Orleans, LA (Mercedes-Benz Superdome)
July 22 -- Dallas, TX (AT&T Stadium)
July 24 -- Chicago, IL (Soldier Field)
July 27 -- Winnipeg, MB (Investor Group Field)
July 30 -- Seattle, WA (Safeco Field)
August 2 -- Los Angeles, CA (Rose Bowl)
August 5 -- San Francisco, CA (AT&T Park)

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6070091/beyonce-jay-z-announce-on-the-run-summer-stadium-tour

Gambling Addiction:10 Ways To Stop Gambling And Stop The Harm Now

Gambling Addiction

Gambling addiction is brutal and highly destructive addiction. This addiction has many consequences that run the gamut from bankruptcy, job loss, depression, anxiety, loss of friends and family.. and of course suicide. This is why it is important for the addict to stop gambling or mminimize gambling harm sooner rather than later.

There is nobody that can be spared of a gambling addiction.If the propensity is there and you cross over that invisible line into problem gambling or gambling addiction, it will not discriminate.

If you are young, old, rich or poor, female, male, hispanic, educated, or uneducated, it really does not matter.This addiction does not care how intelligent you are, how wealthy you are,or how kind you are. An addiction to gambling sends people to jail, causes major social and occupation problems, mental instability,emotional breakdown, financial devastation, and even death. When a person with this addiction does not stop gambling the consequences are truly devastating.

Studies have show that gambling addiction has the highest rate of suicide of all addictions combined. This is most likely due to the financial consequences and gambling debt that can go on for ye

When people stop drinking.. they stop drinking and most likely can resume their lives as before. This is not to say that there are no lasting consequences to drinking or drug use.. there are, but most drug, alcohol, food, or sex addicts are not destroyed financially, having debts to pay back for years and years of their life.

This is where gambling addiction is different. It can affect the life of an addict for years to come. This is why it is so important to get help now... and find ways to get on with your life... reclaim your life, and empower yourself to get better.

It is not easy to quit gambling when you have a gambling addiction or a gambling problem. There are some ways, however, that you can help yourself before your life falls into shambles and you get to the point of no return. Here are 10 ways to help you to stop gambling so you can reclaim your life and restore yourself to a healthy way of thinking and living.
10 Ways To Help Quit Gambling Now

Here are 10 ways to help you quit gambling when you have a compulsive gambling addiction and your life is falling apart. These stop gambling tips will help you to get started on your way,

1. Make a decision on a given day when you wake up that you will not gamble. Decide that for this one day you will not gamble. If you have to do it an hour at a time, this is okay. Sometimes you may have to do it a minute at a time. This is okay, as you are promising yourself in a given moment that you will not gamble. Schedule your day in a very structured way so you do not have a lot of free time. This can really help a lot, as you will have no time to gamble.

2. Find something at that time to replace your gambling. One of the ways to quit gambling is to be able to find healthy replacements that will substitute for your gambling activities. Exercise, go shopping, go out with friends, or do some cooking. You can also rent a movie, or listen to some soft music or do some reading. Anything, and I mean anything not to go back to gambling. Your goal is to stop gambling, or at least begin to reduce gambling harm. I know that it is not easy, especially when you get such a high from your gambling. Doing these replacements, however, can help in some way. I empathize with the struggle that this can cause. Gambling can be such a powerful high, and replacing is never easy. I just suggest that you try, and see how it goes.

3. Remember the feeling when you leave the casino or lost a lot of money in an online casino or through sports betting. Think about how bad it feels when you lose a lot of money. Remember that feeling, and allow yourself to feel that despondency when you are having thoughts about gambling again. Sometimes these feelings can mimic exactly how you feel after a gambling binge. This can really deter you from going out and placing a bet. I have done this before, and just felt the feeling of the drive home from the casino. I must admit that these feelings have stopped me from taking that ride to the casino. Not all the time, but many times this tool has helped me.

4. Read as much as you can about gambling addiction. Educate yourself about the different types of gambling, and especially the type of gambling you participate in. Find out what type of gambler you are and whether or not you have a gambling problem and have crossed over this invisible line. Are you an escape gambler or an action gambler? Find out what some of your triggers are as this can help a lot. When you read about gambling addiction, especially the power that slots/pokies, fobt can have on our psyche, you may think twice about going out and placint that bet.

5. Purchase self help for gambling addiction books, or courses, or just regular books about gambling addiction. In addition, self-hypnosis for gambling problems are also shown to be helpful. In addition, join some Gambling Addiction/Gambling Problem forums online, or if you do not join, just read people's stories. When you read peoples' stories of gambling addiction you will realize that you are not alone. This is important, because sometimes as addicts and problem gamblers, we think that we are the only one with this problem This is really very far from the truth. You are really not alone, and many share the same plight as you. They are looking for answers, as well as support from other gamblers.

6. You may want to attend your nearest Gamblers Anonymous meeting for group support. There is also an online self help program called "Smart Recovery" if you are not into the 12 Steps. 12 Steps are not for everyone, however, it does not mean that you cannot join another support group. Having support from other gamblers who want to get better can be an important piece of your recovery.

7. Have a close family member handle your money. If you do not have money on your person, you will be less apt to impulsively go out and gamble this money away. This may be hard, but this will be an important step in your recovery. In addition, do not allow yourself access to ATM or credit cards. Just keep a small amount of cash with you so you are not tempted to spend the money gambling.

8. Make a list about how your gambling problem has affected your life in a negative way. Write as much as you can and list this in order. Do this on the left column of a sheet of paper so you have room on the right side. On the right side right about how your life will change for the better when you stop gambling.

9. Talk to a debt counselor about your gambling debts to relieve financial pressure and find out how to solve financial problems caused by your problem. This is important, because the financial stress that you have from gambling addiction debts can actually drive you back to gambling if not addressed. This is the strongest and most powerful consequence of this problem, and there is help available. Be sure to use a non-profit debt-help agency, and not one that is for-profit.

10. See a counselor that specializes in addictions, especially gambling, and talk to this person about your problem. This is truly important, because if your addiction is severe, you will need as much support as you can possibly get to stop gambling now.

Overall, gambling addiction is one of the hardest addictions to beat. It is also one of the most dangerous, because of the high suicide rate that is related to it.

If you have a gambling problem, try to quit gambling now, or at least try to reduce harm by gambling less. Put obstacles in your way of gambling such as casino self-exclusion. This can help a lot as well.

When you stop gambling, your life will improve, and you will reclaim your life that you once had before.

http://michelletee.hubpages.com/hub/Gambling-Addiction10-Ways-To-Stop-Gambling-Before-It-Is-Too-Late

Dealing With Sexual Addiction

Sexual addiction facts

Sexual addiction is a condition that involves the sufferer becoming excessively preoccupied with thoughts or behaviors that give a desired sexual effect.
More than 30 million people are thought to suffer from a sexual addiction in the United States alone.
Paraphilias are disorders that involve the sufferer becoming sexually aroused by objects or actions that are considered less conventional and/or less easily accessible to the sex addict.
Sexual addictions may be either paraphilic or nonparaphilic. Nonparaphilic addictions are classified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as sexual disorder, not otherwise specified.
No one factor is thought to cause sexual addiction, but there are thought to be biological, psychological, and social factors that contribute to the development of these disorders.
Sex addicts have been described as suffering from a negative pattern of sexual behavior that leads to significant problems or distress.
As is true with virtually any other mental-health diagnosis, there is no one test that definitively indicates that someone has a sexual addiction. Therefore, health-care practitioners diagnose these disorders by gathering comprehensive medical, family, and mental-health information to distinguish sexual addiction from medical and other mental-health disorders.
Many people with a sexual addiction benefit from the support and structure of recovery groups or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). When sexual compulsions become severe, the sufferer may require inpatient treatment or participation in an intensive outpatient treatment program.
Seroetoninergic (SSRI) antidepressants, antiseizure medications, naltrexone, and medications that decrease male hormones have been found to decrease the compulsive urges and/or impulses associated with sexual addictions for some sufferers.
The prognosis of sexual addictions depends on a number of factors.
Prevention of sexual addiction may involve interventions that enhance self-esteem and self-image, addressing emotional problems, educating children about the dangers of excessive internet use, monitoring and limiting computer use, and screening out pornographic sites.
Sex addiction is associated with a number of potential medical, occupational, legal, social, and emotional complications.
Research on sexual addiction includes exploring potential risk factors and developing accurate screening and assessment tools for these disorders.

What is sexual addiction, and what are the types of sexual addiction?

As with other dependencies, sexual addiction is a condition that involves the sufferer becoming excessively preoccupied with thoughts or behaviors that give a desired effect. It involves spending an exorbitant amount of time thinking about and/or engaging in sexually addictive behaviors. Examples of sexual addictions may involve easily accessible or less accessible (paraphilic) behaviors. Examples of more easily accessible addictive acts may include having one-night stands or multiple affairs, contacts with prostitutes, viewing pornographic pictures or videos, or excessive masturbation. The sufferer may engage in behaviors like frequenting chat rooms, engaging in personal ads, or making obscene phone calls.

Statistics show that from about 10% to 17% of college-aged people suffer from a sex addiction at any one time. In the general adult population, the frequency of sexual addiction is thought to be more like 3%, translating to 17 to 37 million people with a sex addiction.

Paraphilias are disorders that involve the sufferer becoming sexually aroused by objects or actions that are considered less conventional or less easily accessible to the addict. Examples of paraphilias include fetishism (arousal by objects or specific body parts), voyeurism (arousal by watching sexual behaviors), exhibitionism (arousal by having others view his or her sexual behaviors) and pedophilia (arousal by sexual contact with children). When paraphilias include the sufferer having obsessions about the object of their desire, they may be considered sexually addicted. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) only refers to nonparaphilic sexual addictions in the category of sexual disorder, not otherwise specified.

Sexually addictive behaviors have been described in modern times for more than a hundred years. During the 19th century, people were described as frenetic masturbators and as having nymphomania, compulsive sexuality, and sexual intoxication. Although nonparaphilic sexual addictions are not yet formally included in the DSM, it was described in 1978 as addictive sexuality.

http://www.medicinenet.com/sexual_addiction/article.htm

The Unreleased Cut Album Review

This 15 track music album is a classic basing on the following reasoning.
It features humor, style, and elegance with a blend of creative stories.
Jay-P creates a blend of timeless hip-hop tracks that one can listen to over and over.
In God’s Green Earth he talks about being given a gift which he must utilize wisely for
his benefit and those around him in an unusual manner.
In Rock America he describes what it takes to take over the world music scene as an artist.
In My Type A Lady 69 Jay-P makes clear what type of girl he seeks, knowing every man desires
a certain kind of lady and every lady desires a certain kind of man to settle with.
In Exotic vs. Erotic he skillfully uses word play to describe an urban young man’s fantasy lady.
In Truly A Gentleman Jay-P uses irony to portray the fact that there are situations where you
may have to literally take off your gentleman’s outfit to get it done or you lose.

Factoring his diversity and versatility. i rate ''The Unreleased Cut" 5 mics
Reviewed by Music Lifer