Crunch Time for Festivals

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Crunch Time for Festivals

January 2021 is going to be crunch time for festivals. In this still, uncertain time, the organisers of the UK's biggest events remain on a knife edge about festivals being able to go-ahead. Michael Eavis has pinned his hopes on mass vaccination of the country, so Glastonbury can still happen this year. He received his jab, just before new year. Whilst Emily Eavis has been countering claims their festival has already been cancelled and confirming tickets will be rolled over to 2022.

Micheal Eavis at Glastonbury - Photo: Getty

UK Music have shared a new report, Let the Music Play: Save Our Summer 2021, outlining their recommendations for how to restart the UK’s live music industry.

As MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee open their inquiry into ‘The future of UK music festivals’ today (January 5), UK Music – whose CEO Jamie Njoku-Goodwin is among those set to give evidence to the inquiry stating the document “outlines a clear strategy to protect and support the multi-billion pound live music industry so it is ready to restart when safe to do so later this year”.

Read the report below: https://www.ukmusic.org/assets/general/Let_The_Music_Play_Save_Our_Summer_2021.pdf

“The music industry has worked hard to make event spaces as safe as they can possibly be,” UK Music said in a statement accompanying the new report. “This includes launching testing pilots to be able to hold mass events safely, working with government to develop guidance for how to hold events safely, and looking at new ventilation and air purification systems that would dramatically reduce the risk of transmission.

“But there is no certainty about when the industry will be allowed to hold mass events once again.” The report warns that the lack of coronavirus cancellation insurance is “the biggest barrier to major events happening in 2021”, and calls on the UK Government to implement an insurance scheme as it has done for the film and TV sector.

Key action points in the report are, “an indicative date for a full capacity restart” for venues and festivals, a government-backed indemnity scheme and targeted financial support for the live music industry. UK Music are also calling for an extension to the VAT rate reduction on tickets, a rollover of the paid 2020 Local Authority licence fees for festivals to 2021 and an extension to business rates relief.

Up to 50% of the festival workforce faces possible redundancy if the 2021 season is cancelled and a report by the Musicians' Union stated 71% of musicians were considering leaving the sector or were unsure if they would continue. According to Steve Heap, the general secretary of the Association of Festival Organisers (AFO), major music festivals would have to make a decision about their 2021 editions this month. Smaller festivals, however, could put off cancelling until April.

Though the pandemic is still wreaking havoc across the UK the crunch time is definitely, now. The industry and the fans need to know!

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12
Mar

10 of the Best for 2020

It’s that time of year, when we all start to look back and take stock of the offerings of 2020. Pandemic and lockdowns dominated but music was the tonic. Having checked in with various sites and bloggers, there is definitely a small group of albums in which at least one, has cropped up in almost everyone’s ‘Best of 2020’ lists. In no particular order, are 10 albums which got many of through lockdown, isolation, Black Lives Matter and political marches, election fatigue, uncertainty, love and loss. It’s an eclectic mix, offering view points from varied angles and experiences, including disagreement, hope and ultimately, acceptance. Any of these make your list? Let us know your thoughts and favourites in the comments below. Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud After ditching her demons, her angst and finding sobriety, Katie Crutchfield moved herself and her partner Kevin Morby back to Kansas City, USA and created a brand new sound which focuses on her newfound optimism whilst reaffirming her roots in Birmingham, Alabama and her years of being on tour around the world. What she serves up on 'Saint Cloud' is a gentle alt. folk catalogue, which many are claiming is her best writing yet. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters Well known for her reclusive tendencies, Fiona Apple had created and recorded ‘Fetch the Bolt Cutters’, her masterpiece lockdown album on her own at her Venice Beach home, before we’d even stock piled our bog roll! However, the tracks cry of liberation rather than confinement and they include a menagerie of ambient sounds, snarls, harmonies and even a dog bark, but still meet the brutality of life, head on. Featuring in many of the top music industry bloggers ‘Best of 2020’ selections, this album must be doing something right? Run the Jewels – RTJ4 Two years in the making, Run the Jewels album RTJ4 came as a gift and it’s timing was perfect. Offered up for free (as they do with all their albums) two days before it’s official release, it quickly became the Hip-Hop album of the year. 2020 has been a mind-fuck and this album brings all of that to one place, not because or in spite of, the Black Lives Matter movement, but alongside it. Killer Mike and El-P, known for their hardcore, revolutionary lyrics telling you not just how it is, but how it should and will be. Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher Following on from the huge success of her first album, this busy gal has pitched it perfectly. Clever lyrics from Phoebe Bridgers, mean her release of ‘Punisher’ offers up tracks which are specific, but have individual and solid stories. This twentysomething offers her peers some solace with her funny, dreamy, sometimes dark take on the world but is relevant and appealing. Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia Taking the influences of previous Pop Goddesses, Madonna and Kylie Minogue, with the production skills of amongst others, Mark Ronson, creating an album which ‘feels like a dance class’ was a certainty with Future Nostalgia. Flavours of disco, funk, new wave and house bring nothing but fun from the past, into the present and onto the future. Perfume Genius – Set My Heart on Fire Immediately Mike Hadreas (aka Perfume Genius) has placed ‘Set My Heart on Fire Immediately’ firmly in the alt-pop camp, but blends it with synth-pop, hefty guitar rifts and baroque harpsichord flounces. Hadreas vocal range is fabulous and leaves the listener eager for his next project. Deftones – Ohms The Deftones have brought back some hard-rocking guitar and bass riffs on their new album ‘Ohms’. After a 10-year hiatus, this will please the fans of their 2000 album White Pony. Their constant evolving and experimenting brings a revitalised sound to this new album, which will garner them new fans and satisfy their existing devotees. Thundercat – It Is What It Is Following on from his successful 2017 album ‘Drunk’, Stephen Bruner’s (aka Thundercat) fourth album brings an impressive cast of collaborators including Childish Gambino, Ty Dolla $ign and Kamasi Washington adding to the fun, jazz fusion vibes but also remembering the loss of his close friend Mac Miller is 2018 in the track ‘Fair Chance’. The Weeknd – After Hours Following on from 2016’s ‘Starboy’ and his 2018 EP ‘My Dear Melancholy’, The Weekend’s new album is a tiny swerve in a different direction and not what many people were expecting from the talented Canadian. Offering introspection and an open spirit, you can’t help but be wrapped in the adventure. Lil Uzi Vert – Eternal Atake Lil Uzi Vert’s highly anticipated follow up to his 2017 debut album ‘Luv is Rage 2’ is here. ‘Eternal Lake’ offers witty punchlines, cosmic beats, rythyms, melodies and hooks which cleverly stay with you even after the track has finished. Old themes with new ideas, make this album exciting, familiar and a definite classic.

05
Jun

Why In-Person Connections Matter More Than Ever

by Kelli Richards, Jeeni MD USA People call me a ‘super-connector’; I literally make my living connecting people and opportunities to each other and I have a very broad and deep network that I’ve built over many years of establishing long-term trusted relationships. Many of these relationships were developed the old-fashioned way, by having ‘live’ conversations of substance in person or over the phone over time. That said, we live in a fragmented world where more and more we connect through devices and technology (whether via text messaging on our phones, e-mail over the Internet or via Zoom conference calls online). While these technologies are arguably convenient and time-saving, something has gotten lost in translation. Look around whenever you’re out in public, and the vast majority of people have their faces buried in their smartphones or in their laptops. This applies regardless of age, gender, or any other consideration. One of the saddest (but most prolific) examples is when a couple are out having a meal together but each has their face buried in their own device, and are in their own worlds. At a minimum, this type of behavior certainly seems to push intimacy away and can lead to undesirable outcomes because people have stopped looking at each other and engaging in active conversation. The film producer Brian Grazer has just published his new book entitled “Face to Face: The Art of Human Connection”, and of course I love it. In the book, Brian argues that one of the secrets to a better life lies in establishing personal real-time connection (like we all used to indulge in before we had access to these devices). He argues that burying ourselves in our individual devices destroys an essential facet of the human experience we can only get when we look at someone face-to-face and engage in a real conversation. When we do so, and look into each other’s eyes, we form strong connections and bonds with each other, we understand each other better, we expand our world views, and we create memorable meaningful moments that can lead to a range of possibilities. When we connect and understand each other, we become interested in what matters to one another and that leads to wanting to support and add value to each other’s lives. This is what truly matters folks. No matter how convenient our technology and devices are or become, the bottom line is that trusted relationships rule the world — and that applies both personally and professionally across the board. So, I strongly urge you to reach out and make time to connect with people face-to-face more often. Seek to understand others, pay attention and invest genuine time in getting to know what matters to them so you can figure out how you can add value to them and help them to achieve their goals. Be yourself, more uncensored — drop your masks and be authentic, the kind of person you want others to know and respect. Show up fully as yourself, vulnerable and caring, which encourages others to do the same. And as you do so, watch what happens as your relationships shift and evolve. I’m willing to bet your life will improve and create a ripple effect that impacts the lives of others around you as well. Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com

20
Jan

Ariana May, 'Suffolk Bay' Single Review

At just 16, Ariana May has reached a level of musical maturity that demands respect and attention. On Suffolk Bay, her vision is translated through her expressive piano playing and is then fully realised by her sweet, graceful vocals which glide as delicately as the accompanying strings. Ariana May has been an integral part part of Jeeni, from contributing unique and wonderful tracks to our pop channel, to being a part of our artist partnership programme with Daisy Chute. It seems as though our support has been well received too, according to some encouraging feedback from Ariana about her time with us, "I've felt so supported by Jeeni, it has been great to feel such a backing from a brilliant company!" Instead of just singing about an emotion-rich memory based in Suffolk Bay, Ariana opts to take you there instead. As well as providing atmospheric imagery, the audio of the waves creates a sort of organic alternative to a textured synth of filtered noise; the panning and treatment of which works perfectly to fill in the spatial gaps of the stripped back arrangement. Ariana’s vocal melodies are so delicate on this single that they sometimes flitter and almost evaporate before swooping back in and folding into the warmth of the reverbed piano. As light as her voice may sound, she doesn’t let that delicate element detract from any power or intended sentiment that it holds. The romantic imagery in the lyrics recounts a memory but can also be seen as a narration of the unfolding of the track itself, “When you felt the music go right through your bones”. The ethereal and spacey nature of Ariana’s high-register singing certainly does at times feel as though it cuts right through you. Lyrically, Ariana also references the mythical creature, sirens which mirrors an eerie and fantastical resemblance considering the nautical setting and Ariana’s enchanting vocal performance. Deceptively simple ‘Suffolk Bay’ actually has a lot to unpack, instrumentally. The theatrical piano takes precedence in the accompaniment and strings are used to tastefully embellish choice moments of the track. A sparing approach to the strings really lends to their effectiveness and impact; they cleverly swell and disappear periodically much like the waves do. Instead of flowing in long, held notes like Ariana’s voice, the piano chugs along in a steady, pulsing rhythm, creating a complimenting relationship between the two styles. This single came with an equally dramatic and stirring video which you can check out here: https://jeeni.com/suffolk-bay-by-ariana-may-2/ How can Jeeni support artists like Ariana May JEENI is a multi-channel platform for original entertainment on demand. We’re a direct service between creatives and the global audience. • We give creatives, independent artists and performers a showcase for their talent and services. And they keep 100% of everything they make. • We empower our audience and reward them every step of the way. • We promise to treat our members ethically, fairly, honestly and with respect. • Access to artist liaison and a supportive marketing team. Check out Ariana's Showcase here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/arianamay/

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