Latest news with #MBW
Time Business News
4 days ago
- General
- Time Business News
Marco Anasetti and Bonnie: Empowering Youth Through My Brother's Workshop
When it comes to supporting initiatives that truly make an impact, Marco Anasetti and his wife, Bonnie, are deeply committed to standing behind organizations that transform lives. One such program that captured their hearts is My Brother's Workshop (MBW), a nonprofit in the Virgin Islands dedicated to equipping at-risk youth with skills, structure, and a renewed sense of purpose. Marco recalls that they hadn't been actively seeking another nonprofit to support when they first learned about MBW. 'There was something different about this one,' he says. 'You could see the commitment people showing up daily, ready to help young individuals who were often overlooked by society. That level of dedication moved us.' Bonnie adds, 'We attended one of their events early on and saw the students in action. The energy, the hard work, the prideit was all real. It wasn't just charity; it was an investment in futures.' Unlike many organizations that offer only short-term assistance, MBW builds long-term change. Through programs in welding, woodworking, culinary arts, construction, and marine services, students not only learn practical trades but also gain access to therapy, education, mentorship, and emotional support. According to Marco Anasetti, the heart of MBW is belief belief in the students before they even believe in themselves. 'That belief is often what sets someone on the path to change,' he shares. Bonnie emphasizes that MBW's strength lies in its ability to walk alongside its students. 'They don't just show them the path they walk it with them, every step of the way.' One of the most powerful aspects of MBW's approach is its intentional mentorship. Marco explains, 'This isn't a quick chat and goodbye. The mentors are there every day, setting expectations, guiding growth, and remaining patient. It's a rare balance.' Bonnie adds, 'They're not just training job skills they're helping students learn how to communicate, resolve conflict, and build a future. It's about developing confident, capable adults.' So why do Marco and Bonnie choose to invest their time and resources into MBW? 'Because we've witnessed the transformation,' Marco says. 'We've heard the stories of hardship and loss, and we've seen those same individuals build something better for themselves. It's powerful.' Bonnie adds, 'This isn't about handouts. It's about opening real doors. Watching a young person land their first job or graduate with pride those are the moments that matter.' Their passion for this mission is clear across all their platforms, including Marco's digital profile and Instagram presence, where they continue to advocate for youth empowerment. The work done at MBW doesn't just touch the students it uplifts entire communities. As Marco explains, 'When a young person turns their life around, their success resonates far beyond themselves. It reaches their families, friends, and neighborhoods.' Bonnie agrees. 'This is generational impact. These students grow into community leaders, role models, and change-makers. The cycle of positivity keeps growing.' For those considering getting involved with MBW, Marco's advice is simple: 'Visit the workshop. Meet the team. Listen to the students. You'll understand immediately why this program is worth your support.' Bonnie concludes, 'Every bit of support matters. Whether it's your time, your resources, or your voice, you can help change someone's life.' In a world that often overlooks those in need, Marco Anasetti and Bonnie continue to lead by example, showing what's possible when belief meets action. Want to follow Marco Anasetti's journey and his mission? YouTube Channel Profile Instagram: @captmarcopolo TIME BUSINESS NEWS
7NEWS
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
You could be listening to fake artists on Spotify and not even know it
Not only has there been a marked increase in AI-generated music released by fake artists, but music streaming services are also pushing those artists into your playlists. The issue of fake or bot accounts on platforms like Spotify has again made headlines this week, thanks to Spotify 'verified' band The Velvet Sundown being unmasked as an AI imposter. The '70s-inspired psych-rock band clocks over 858K monthly listeners on Spotify alone and is being recommended in subscribers' algorithmic playlists, like Discover Weekly. However, it was its AI-tinted promotional images, fabricated band bio including the nebulous descriptor 'like a scent that suddenly takes you back somewhere you didn't expect', that gave them away — not to mention a lack of live show dates, a sparse digital footprint and the tell-tale, frequency-glossed sheen of algorithmic production. When a spokesperson from the project spoke to Rolling Stone, they confirmed the band used AI music generator platform Suno, and called the entire project a 'marketing stunt'. 'It's trolling,' said the spokesperson, who used the pseudonym Andrew Frelon for the interview. 'People didn't care before, but now we're in Rolling Stone,' he said. As previously reported by the issue of fake streams is diverting royalties away from real human performers; estimated to take about $US2 billion out of artists' royalties per year. But now, it's getting more difficult to decipher what's fake and what's not. Even 50 Cent is enjoying AI music, and is even sharing it to his millions of followers. Sharing a clip of himself singing along to AI hip hop artist Nick Hustles, the rapper can be seen mouthing the lyrics to the Nick Hustles song Why U N ** s Gotta Hate. Loading Instagram Post Nick Hustles has over 238,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and even has his own official 'This is Nick Hustles' playlist (the same treatment given to real-world artists), and has been featured in the platform's Release Radar playlists. The liner notes for Nick Hustles outs the project as AI-driven. As reported by MBW, Hustles is the creation of Pennsylvania-based Nick Arter, a self-described AI Storyteller and founder of AI For The Culture, an Instagram page with over 100,000 followers dedicated to fictional AI artists posing as the forgotten voices of 60s, 70s and 80s soul and funk. Locally, Australia's industry has come out in droves to push for regulation and transparency from generative AI models. Dean Ormston, CEO of music body APRA AMCOS, said we need clear, enforceable rules around the training of AI models. 'Without this, Australian and New Zealand creators risk being exploited, their works devalued, and their voices erased,' he said. Sharing excerpts from an article published by MBW to Facebook, songwriter and media personality Mark Holden said, 'As if artists, songwriters and musicians aren't facing enough in the digital economy, then there's this.' Victoria-born UK-based musician Nick Cave said, 'That's (AI music's) intent: to completely sidestep the inconvenience of the artistic struggle (by) going straight to the commodity. 'Which reflects on us, as what we are as human beings: things that consume stuff. 'We don't make things anymore; we just consume stuff.' Warrnambool artist Didirri took to Instagram to share his frustration with the influx of AI music. 'This AI sh*t that is putting slop onto the Internet and generative, iterative, crappy art…,' he paused. 'I just kind of have to stop and so I'm going full luddite, and I'm going to start a physical mailing list.' Didirri pushed his fans to attend more live shows if they shared his frustrations. 'If you're feeling existential and weird about the world right now and how fake it's getting, maybe go hang out with some human beings in a room that make art,' he said. Australian producer Tushar Apte — who recently released the single She's Miss Cali with Idris Elba and Snoop Dogg with his The Dualists project — has what he's calling a 'short-term' tactic for artists frustrated by AI-generated music infiltrating streaming platforms. His suggestion? Flood the system, in return, by uploading AI-generated tracks under the fake band's name. This will make it difficult for the original AI creators to maintain control, and redirect any royalties to a good cause. Taking to Instagram he said, 'If you're an artist, everybody knows that if someone fraudulently uploads a song to Spotify with your artist's name on it, it's pretty hard to take that thing down, as a featured artist or whatever it is. 'So ... You could make a song on Suno, or whatever, upload it and say it's by this band. 'And it'll be hard for them to take that down. Do a bunch of them. Do 50 of them. Do 100 of them. 'Collect the money from that. Let's put it back into a charity or into a fund that helps songwriters.' How popular are fake artists on music streaming services? A report by MBW detailed 13 AI-made 'artists' currently active on Spotify, with approximately 4.1 million cumulative monthly listeners between them. AI-generated country singer Aventhis boasts more than one million monthly listeners and his song Mercy On My Grave has already surpassed two million streams. However, Aventhis doesn't exist in any human sense. His voice, image and entire persona were created using AI tools, likely through platforms like Suno or Udio. MBW noted that the human songwriter behind Aventhis is David Vieira, who admitted in online comments that the artist's voice and image were entirely AI-made, with Vieira providing only the lyrics. In the space of just four months, Aventhis has released three full albums, including 57 tracks, all available across major streaming services. Industry experts warn the scale of its reach is now impossible to ignore with fake acts quietly dominating algorithm-driven recommendations on services like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music. APRA AMCOS' Dean Ormston said the onus is on streaming platforms to provide transparency and safeguards. 'Our concern regarding Generative AI and the Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT arises from the complete lack of transparency platforms have demonstrated in terms of acknowledging the music, art, books and screen content that has been 'scraped', 'mined', 'listened to', 'trained on', or to use a better word, copied, to create their outputs,' he said.
Agriland
19-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Kepak links up with MBW to boost female factory roles
Kepak and Meat Business Women (MBW) have partnered on a new pilot programme to support the progression of women working in factory floor roles across the food industry. The programme was developed in response to feedback from Kepak's operative workforce focus groups at MBW-hosted events in 2024, which found that gender bias and a confidence gap were the primary challenges affecting women in operations and manufacturing roles. The four-month pilot took place with employees from Kepak's sites in Clonee, Athleague, Ballymahon, Ballybay, and Cavan and focused on key topics including: building confidence; assertiveness and personal brand; navigating change; and strategic networking. Women in factory roles The workshops were developed to give women at Kepak practical tools, knowledge, and strategies to support their progression into leadership. Each participant attended four in-person workshops and was also matched with an internal mentor. They also received MBW membership, which provides access to ongoing professional development and a global network of women across the meat industry to further build their connections. According to the two groups, on the back of the success of the programme, it will be rolled out across Meat Business Women's wider network of strategic partners, offering other businesses the opportunity to invest in the growth and retention of their operational talent. Quality controller, Kepak Ballybay and pilot programme participant, Sabrina Farrelly said: 'After completing the programme, I'm more confident at work. 'I had doubts about being good enough and not wanting to progress as I felt comfortable in my current role, however, during the four pilot workshops, these thoughts were put out of my head as soon as we learned more about the tools needed to build confidence. 'I would recommend this course highly to any person that is given the opportunity to complete it. My mindset has completely changed from self-doubt to confidence since completing the pilot programme.' Learning and development manager, Kepak, Niamh McTrinley added: 'At Kepak, we take pride in being a great place to work where people are respected and empowered. 'This pilot programme developed in partnership with Meat Business Women is a direct response to the needs of our operations team and the wider industry. 'The results speak for themselves – 82% of participants reported increased confidence to pursue professional ambitions and taking the next step in their career with Kepak after taking part in the programme.' Founder and global chair of Meat Business Women, Laura Ryan said: 'We know that there are particular challenges facing women in operative roles and are proud to work with our programme provider to offer a practical, data-led solution to this, with fantastic results. 'Our priority as an organisation remains the attraction, development and retention of the best talent and we believe that by investing in women in operational roles, we're supporting the development of internal talent pipelines, which are critical to the ensuring that businesses remain sustainable and profitable.' Women in meat workforce A recent MBW report found that the proportion of women in the meat workforce has declined from 36% in 2020 to 33.5% in 2023. The most significant drop was in operations roles, which fell from 40% to 36%. The report also found that many women still bear the majority of childcare responsibilities, which combined with rising childcare costs has made access to work more difficult, especially in entry-level roles. On completion of the four-month pilot programme, Kepak said: 82% of participants reported increased confidence to pursue professional ambitions and taking the next step in their career with Kepak; 85% felt better equipped to build support systems (e.g., through networking and mentorship) and intend to continue this after the programme; 100% would recommend the programme to a colleague. The meat processor added that this pilot marks a significant milestone in Kepak's commitment to building a more inclusive and supportive operational workforce. The company has also said that it demonstrates the value of Meat Business Women's evidence-based, partnership-led approach to developing and retaining female talent across the supply chain. Kepak Kepak Group is a family-owned meat company with a heritage of over 50 years. From its beginnings as a butcher shop in Dublin in 1966, Kepak has grown into a €1.8 billion business employing over 4,500 people. The group operates 14 manufacturing facilities across Ireland and the UK, with sales offices in Europe, the US and Asia. Kepak serves both retail and foodservice markets with brands including Big Al's, Rustlers, Celtic Beef and John Stone. Meat Business Women Meat Business Women works in partnership with meat businesses and the supply chain to remove the barriers that stop women from reaching their full professional potential. It does this by focusing on five key areas: changing perceptions of the sector; moving inclusion up the agenda; tackling the broken career ladder; strengthening networks and creating visible role models; and gender-proofing working practices and patterns. MBW is the United Nation's (UN) recognised global professional network for women working across the meat industry. It was created to improve the sustainability of the meat sector and grow the pipeline of female talent in what is often considered a male dominated arena. MBW works in partnership with over 50 global meat businesses and has the strategic backing of leading manufacturers, retailers, and foodservice companies as well as supporting industry organisations.
