Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

How to Monetise Live Streaming

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How to Monetise Live Streaming

The Independent Musicians and Performers Community wants to spotlight the fact that as gigs, concerts, tours and festivals are cancelled, musicians and performers will be unable to play in front of significant live audiences for the foreseeable future. Some of our members have asked for advice on what software or streaming platforms to use and how can this community help them monetise live streaming. The monetisation of live streaming is possible in a few different ways. The most straightforward one is via donations, which is pretty quick and simple to set up via PayPal.

Having spent a couple of days looking for sound advice and guidance I found this blog which was sent in by one of our members. Fellipe Baldauf, so thanks very much Fellipe.

The blog has been specifically designed to serve freelance artists, and those interested in supporting the independent artist community. This includes, but is not limited to, actors, designers, producers, technicians, stage managers, musicians, composers, choreographers, visual artists, filmmakers, craft artists, teaching artists, dancers, writers & playwrights, photographers, etc. Check out the blog, it is very comprehensive and we found it very useful. https://covid19freelanceartistresource.wordpress.com/

I hope you agree the blog is brilliant and not to be missed as essential reading, the writers are non political, non self promoting whilst provide extremely free advice useful lists and links to information on very topical subjects such as: Emergency Funding, International Resources, Best Practices for Online Teaching, Online Platforms, Health and Mental Health Resources, Temporary and Remote Job Opportunities and Events.

Example of bands streaming live concerts because of coronavirus include Orange and Gnash.

Code Orange drummer and vocalist Jami Morgan told Newsweek that they decided to perform the concert after making every effort to have it happen as planned. He said after all the work put in, the hardcore idols had to do the show at least once.

"We need to make two versions of this plan. One: that we could maybe still do this, with the show, because we don't know what's going to happen going forward," Morgan told Newsweek. "Another: we do it empty-arena match style and be the first ones to do it, and try to give everyone the show we've been working so hard on, and turn this negative to at least a little bit of a positive or something enjoyable for people who like heavy music." https://www.newsweek.com/code-orange-gnash-against-me-diplo-stream-shows-coronavirus-1492333

We have just registered to a live broadcast with Vimeo entitled: "How to Plan a virtual event: Vimeo's live production experts tell all".

Greg Palmer, Senior Producer at Vimeo states that: "As businesses and organizations shift their in-person event strategies to virtual experiences, Vimeo’s live production team is here to help navigate these changes successfully under tight deadlines. We can provide expert advice on how schools, event coordinators, marketers, and more are evolving their event strategies to optimize engaging live streaming experiences". The broadcast includes:

  1. Why live streamed events make sense as a supplement for in person events
  2. How Vimeo's virtual package is helping organisations quickly pivot to online experiences
  3. Why and when businesses should partner with a third partner production service
  4. Customer stories of working with Vimeo's live production team for their virtual event. https://vimeo.com/pt-br/enterprise/live-production-broadcast

That's it for now folks, Mel and I hope that you found this useful and share with like-minded people that might benefit.

Written by Shena Mitchell and Mel Croucher founding directors of Jeeni.com

04
Jun

Inside Story with Blue Vein

Blue Vein is the stage name of Spanish Singer and Songwriter Alex Gonzalez. He is based in Zaragoza, Spain and performed his new track ‘Catharsis’ in the JAM Festival collaboration in April. Alex is sat in his living room, his signature long dark curls framing a cheeky smile which delightedly remains throughout the interview with team Jeeni member Kate.  Kate asks what the story behind his latest release is. “Basically, I really really liked a girl,” he says smiling, “I wanted to express and portray in a song all these feeling that I was going through, the song talks about that, it’s something that lots of people can relate to, and also the phrase in the chorus ‘this is my catharsis’ [refers to] the fact that no matter how sad I am or what difficult times I’m in, my music and writing songs is always there for me and it’s so liberating and a key element for me to have [in my life] in order to be happy.” The video that accompanied the track was a brilliant and eclectic mix of colour and movement. When asked about the creative process behind making the video, his response was, “It was a bit chaotic because at first I was very lost, I had in mind the vibes that I wanted for the clothes, but that was it so normally when you do a video you have in mind the order that you want the shots to be in and you create a storyboard, but, I didn’t,” again he laughs, “and so yes it was very chaotic. What I did was buy the clothes, and a huge reel of green fabric to create the comic effect via a green screen, and then I shot everything in a bit of a rush, using different camera angles, and then in post editing I chose the shots that I thought fit the best.”  Despite the chaotic nature of the video shooting, we all agreed it was a huge success and loved the feel that the video gave alongside the track.  Alex is also a member of two other bands, The Sun Above Us and Shut, despite this, he continues to release music as a solo artist as well. Kate asks why he decided to make this decision.  “I love being in bands, I think that playing with and creating with other people that you love and that inspire you can be the most enriching thing, but our friend Covid”he grimaces, “came and there were no rehearsals, no concerts, so we barely play now.” The disappointment is evident on his face and it’s so sad to see. He continues, “so the Covid situation made me write more songs on my own, and actually it made me worry less, “his smile returns, “as when you’re in a band you [tend] to stick with a certain genre and even a certain language as I also write in Spanish [so this allowed me more freedom].”  Alex is from the North East of Spain, a country which has so many distinct musical and cultural influences, Kate asks how these influences have shaped him as an artist.  “To be honest I don’t know! I’ve always listened to Spanish music, my parents always played me rock from the 70s, 80s and 90s and I guess I’ve been influenced by choice of melodies and sounds and in that way that’s how I think it has influenced me.”  One thing that we notice throughout the interview is that despite Alex’s heritage, he has a very clear English Accent, Kate asks how he came to develop this.  Alex throws his fantastic head of hair back and laughs, “Thank you! I don’t know, I’ve always really liked the British accent, so I just practiced and tried to imitate it, but does it sound real, do I sound fake?” Kate smiles and says that she thinks he sounds like David Bowie which I am in complete agreement with! They both laugh and smile at this and Alex blushes a little at the compliment.  “Did you always know you wanted to make music?” Kate asks.  “Yes! Since I started playing it was like a dream. With Blue Vein I can mix it with my other passion, which is film making, I suck a bit at that but it’s fun.”  When asked if he had the opportunity to open a show for any musician, alive or dead, who would it be, he answers, “Well, I don’t think it would fit [very well] because of the genre, but Architects…a British metalcore band in Brighton, they’re basically my favourite band, and even if it was just so I could see them live, I would die to open for them!” They both laugh at the fact that despite Kate attending University in Brighton, she is bashful that she hasn’t heard of them before but promises Alex, she’ll give them a listen.  For new artists that are just starting out and who in the future could take part in events such as Jeeni’s JAM Festival, Kate asks what advice Alex would give to them.  “It might sound a bit cliché, but you really have to believe in what you do, and understand why you do what you do, because having a defined purpose is going to [allow you to] be driven by it, and not just be motivated to get to an end point, but if you are driven by it, you’re not going to let anything stop you. That and a lot of love and effort. I’d love to give you advice for social media but [I’m not big enough for that yet].” He laughs.  Finally, Kate asks what we can expect from Blue Vein in the near future.  “Literally anything! When I write songs, I don’t think in any genre, I have deathcore songs, I have soft Spanish ballads, I don’t want any limits on my creations…The next song is going to be an acoustic version of ‘Catharsis’, then a rock ballad in Spanish, and I want to try release soe of my Spanish songs in English as an alternative as well.”  To find out more about Blue Vein, listen to his music and invest, please visit https://jeeni.com/showcase/bluevein/

12
Mar

Voices of 2021

BBC Sounds has just released it's longlist of nominees for the 'BBC Sound of 2021', a prophecy of who they believe will be filling your playlists for the upcoming year, from the best rising talent. Now in it's 19th year, this year's longlist was compiled by a panel of 161 industry experts, including former nominees Billie Eilish (2018) and Stormzy (2015). The winner will be announced in January on BBC News and BBC Radio 1. The 10 acts hoping to win the top spot are: Alfie Templeman - Indie PopBerwyn - Soul Poet / BalladsBree Runway - Trap / R&BDutchavelli - Rap / Hip-HopGirl In Red - Indie PopGreentea Peng - Psychedelic SoulGriff - Bedroom PopHolly Humberstone - Pop BalladsPa Salieu - Rap MaverickThe Lathums - Indie Band To be eligible, musicians must not have been the lead artist on a UK top 10 album, or more than one top 10 single, by 30 October 2020. Artists who have appeared on TV talent shows within the last three years are also ineligible. The top five will be revealed in the New Year on BBC Radio 1 and BBC News, with one artist announced each day from Sunday 3 January until the winner is unveiled on Thursday 7 January. Covid-19 has made launching a music career trickier than ever - and to date, only four of the nominated acts have played a headline gig, which explains the strong showing of bedroom and DIY artists on the list. 2020's winner, Celeste, also suffered setbacks from the pandemic hangover, as her new album release was delayed. Instead she chose to release well received tracks, 'Stop this Flame' and 'Little Runaway' to give us a taster of what is to come. She also became the first singer to ever record an original track 'A Little Love' for the John Lewis Christmas campaign. Her debut album, 'Not Your Muse' is now being released Feb 26th. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwuJFAsZD0k

10
Jun

Let’s celebrate the “F” word – unlocking the power of our feminity. By Sammie Venn

By Sammie Venn Jeeni's Official Writer, Columnist and Blogger. Here at Jeeni.com we celebrate and support all musicians and performers, and poetry has its own dedicated channel for artists and performers to showcase their work and earn 100% of their sales, ticketing, merchandise and donations. Last week Jeeni returned to Crowdcube to raise more funds for helping new talent. We have been very encouraged with the positive response as we reached our target in just 6 days and now overfunding If you want to see our pitch click HERE. Today we showcase Sammie Venn as a very talented and creative writer. “For I conclude that the enemy is not lipstick, but guilt itself; we deserve lipstick, if we want it, AND free speech; we deserve to be sexual AND serious—or whatever we please. We are entitled to wear cowboy boots to our own revolution.” After reading Dr Naomi Wolfs powerful words I dug my cowboy boots out of the closet, turned the radio up and attempted to work through my own solitary revolution. I too wanted lipstick, love and liberty. I wanted to dance to my own beat and feel ecstatic about it. I have been in the retail industry for over 25 years now; understanding what women want and correlating that to how they feel, is a task both meaningful and joyful to me. It is something I continue to learn and explore daily as finding our inimitable style is part of the process of discovering our femininity; for me it is about how we show up in the world. I have never been an avid follower of fast fashion, the clothes we wear and how we choose to adorn ourselves is part of being authentically who we are. At heart I am a boho gypsy who longs to live her life in maxi dresses with no shoes, in the sunshine. This is of course not always practical but I like to kiss the earth with my toes as often as I can and working from home, especially at the moment provides me with that luxury. Celebrating our femininity should be a practice that connects both the pleasure and magic of being a woman. It’s easy to berate ourselves, finding fault in the smallest of details but it is those elements  that we should embrace and nurture more than anything; it is after all what makes us unique in this world. I had a hip replacement a couple of years ago at the age of 45. As painful and heart breaking as it was, I learnt to love the scar I see every day, as it was that very operation which allowed me to walk again. Falling in love with your body, scars and all, is about accepting everything that is wild, vulnerable and rampant about it. Listening to our intuition and feeling the emotions that accompany it, is a practice worthy of time and dedication. I have always appreciated music, the soundtrack that accompanies my life is as varied and eclectic as the decades I have lived in. Maya Angelou wrote that “ a bird does not sing because it has the answers, it sings because it has a song”. So when we write, listen or perform, we give something of our heart to a receiving audience. I have been working on a series of practices that will hopefully help to reclaim our pleasure both internally and externally. Here are a few rituals that harness the wisdom that we all carry within ourselves. Something for the mind, body and spirit. Reclaiming Pleasure. When we feel pleasure, we radiate it. Our skin glows, our eyes smile and our bodies feel more fluid and engaged with life in the moment. Finding pleasure in our daily activities is all part of a healthy sacred self-care regime. Notice what brings you joy, is it walking in nature? Dancing slowly to a rhythmic beat? Eating delicious food? Meditating? Soaking in a candlelit bath? Whatever it is, write it down and designate some time to your desires. Fulfilling our deepest needs brings us joy and harmony. Date Yourself. Have a date with yourself, be your own lover. Imagine your ideal soiree then recreate that for yourself, it can be wildly extravagant or very simple. A few years ago I took myself out for dinner, I dressed as if I were going out for the perfect first date. It was an odd experience as I had never done anything like this before. I was as nervous about being alone in a restaurant as I would have been meeting a prospective partner. But after my first glass of prosecco, I eased into the evening. I pulled out my notebook and listed everything I wanted to attract into my life; health, the feeling of safety, oneness with myself and those I loved,  a man who respected me on all levels and a career I could be proud of. I ate my dinner mindfully, observed those around me and then smiled to myself, I remember feeling happy for the first time in years. I still have the journal I wrote in that night, I see it as part of my self-healing revolution. When you commit to choosing you, that loving vibration will radiate into all areas of your life. Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com