"Pay Per Tweet"

By: Insanul Ahmed (Vibe Magazine; Oct./Nov. 2010; pg. 34)

Not every celeb can score loaded endorsement deals, but several are getting paid in full peddling products on Twitter. VIBE cornered Sean Rad, founder and president of Ad.ly---a leading Twitter advertising platform---for details on how our favorite stars get tipped to tweet.

Vibe (V): Celebs like Kim Kardashian have been plugging Carl's Jr. chicken salads and Reebok too eagerly on Twitter. Is your company to blame?

Sean Rad (SR): What people see as tweets, we view as fantastic content that's not being compensated. We bring advertisers into the mix and make money for influential people sending messages to their audience from a brand they believe in or associate with. We have over 60,000 influencers signed up (including Kim K., Trey Songz and Soulja Boy). A lot of times our influencers say they'd like to (promote) a certain brand, and we'll go about getting an ad.

V: Can a regular Joe be an influencer?

SR: Anyone with influence (can be considered). We have algorithms that factor in a lot of things: followers, their engagement with those followers, how often they tweet, etc.

V: Lindsay Lohan reportedly makes $10,000 per tweet. Just how much are celebs caking?

SR: We can't (disclose) prices. It ranges from $1 to five figures.

V: Can they tweet as many ads a they want to boost their earnings?

SR: There isn't a limit, but we pace it out. The price (per tweet) will decrease if you place too many ads and don't maintain a good quality stream.

V: Sounds like an easy gig, yet many stars deny their involvement.

SR: We've never experienced that. Every ad is clearly disclosed as an ad. The influencer approves every message to make sure it's in line with their audience. But there are instances where (stars) might be promoting other things they don't want to admit. 

Big K.R.I.T.

By: John Kennedy (Vibe; Oct./Nov.; pg. 52)

What We Say: Justin "Big K.R.I.T." Smith was certain he'd found the formula for mainstream staying power: jingly hooks, catchy beats and all-crunk everything. In search of financial freedom, the 24-year-old Mississippian chased after a No. 1 single. But when he only saw modest traction by emulating hip-hop's status quo, K.R.I.T. (an acronym for "King Remembered in Time") questioned his dumb-it-down strategy. Feeling like he'd sacrificed much of his lyrical substance, he abandoned empty radio fodder and in May dropped the confessional 'K.R.I.T. Wuz Here', a self-produced mixtape focused on social ills, relationship woes and occasional collar-popping. The equation lined up, and the soul-sample-driven project scored him Cinematic Music Group/Def Jam paperwork. Adding grander instrumentation to his vibrant memoirs, K.R.I.T.'s still-untitled debut is the perfect blueprint---his own.

What he says: "It took me five years to really figure out my sound and get comfortable rapping about my life. In the beginning stages, you're trying to get the best club song possible, and there's nothing wrong with that. But when you focus so much energy on one avenue of music, it can hurt your creative mind frame. Seeing how Andre 3000 and Cee-Lo Green creatively did what they thought was jamming and people embraced it, I was like, Damn, that's what I wanna do. It can't just be trendy. I gotta talk about real concepts and stuff that means the world to me in order to make it timeless."