I have a confession to make.

Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

I have a confession to make.

Jeeni has returned to Crowdcube to raise more funds for helping new talent. Jeeni founding director Mel Croucher says, “Day 5 and we have reached 98% of our 100K target". If you want to see our pitch click HERE.

Mel has been writing the best-loved column in top-selling tech magazines for over 30 years. Now he's agreed to share his work with all our members. He's a video games pioneer and musician, and to to find out more about Mel check out his website www.melcroucher.net. Here's one of Mel's latest!

I have a confession to make. I have been pimping a young model, and I confess my shame. My pimping is the result of a moment of weakness. I’ve had models before, and I understand their capricious nature. One moment they are willing to perform across my desk, and the next they freeze and refuse to let me do what I want to do. But it has not been any fantasy performance that’s got me hooked, it has been the fantasy looks. I was bored. I wanted colour. I wanted make-up. I wanted dazzle and glitter. I wanted tribal tattoos, hot bubbles, glowing tubes and a whirling fan-dance. Forgive me, but I’ve pimped my computer.

In 1909, Henry Ford declared, “I will build a motor car for the great multitude. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the best designs that modern engineering can devise. And no man making a good salary will be unable to own one.” He then added his famous line, “The customer can have his car painted any colour he wants as long as it’s black.” And so they were. Painted black. When I was young, cars were still mostly black, apart from the odd spot of lipstick around the exhaust pipes of those used in suicide pacts. As for computer manufacturers, they all followed Henry Ford’s marketing strategy for half a century. Except their colour of choice was not black, but the sort of beige favoured by dead maggots. The exception was the ZX Spectrum which was black, but the keyboard really was made of dead maggots. Apart from that aberration, beige was the colour. In fact the beige box came to be used as a term of derision for desktops, implying dated, boring specifications.

For example, IBM's early desktop computers were not only very beige indeed, but also very box-shaped indeed, and most PC clone manufacturers followed suit. As IBM and its imitators came to dominate the industry, beige boxes became the unquestioned norm for boring desktop computer design. Even early Apple Macs were beige boxes, until Apple took the revolutionary step in 1987 of switching to the even more boring shade of Chicken Poo By Moonlight. Not long after, equally boring videogame consoles took over the world, until there were so many revolting grey Nintendos and Segas and Playstations and Gameboys, that they had to be transported across deep space to be turned into landfill on distant moons. Meanwhile all Earthbound computers were still fifty shades of grey, until one day Apple changed everything.I remember the shock when their 1988 iMacs were launched. Suddenly we had a choice of computers that looked like see-through giant jellybabies, in a range of five neon colours called gangrene, monkeybum, impetigo, barbie and mince. And that was the end of the adult era in electronics, as a collective madness took over computer marketing. Now users are persuaded to buy machines not for what they do in the adult world, but for their infantile appearance. Users who are normally sane actually enjoy miniature coloured LEDs, winking and blinking through transparent windows like a pixie brothel. Tubes of bubbling, gaudy liquids snake their way through the computer’s guts like tapeworms on acid. Miniature spotlights illuminate cooling fans and heat-sinks from the inside out. These days a serious gamer will spend serious money on a serious PC, then corrupt the whole thing by spraying it with Plasti-Dip peelable, durable, non-slip, rubberised, multi-coloured spew. Yes, I know I shouldn’t have, but a bloke called Xephos made me do it. Let me explain further.

I have been influenced by the newly popular phenomenon of celebrity PCs, where people buy a particular machine simply because their heroes favour it, endorse it or actually commission it in their name. For example one of the world’s most popular videogaming channels on YouTube is called The Yogscast. Last time I counted, it had more than seven and a half million subscribers and over six billion views, and that’s a whole lot of purchasing power. Their founder, this bloke called Xephos, got a business partner of Jeeni to create “the ultimate Yogscast PC range to live stream and play games all day.” And as the factory os not far from me, I went over to mock. But I stayed to pray, and found myself mesmerised by the bloody thing. Bloody as in bejewelled with animated red illuminations inside the see-through casing. Which is how I joined this PC pimping revolution.And even non-gamers are at it. Most regular folk, who normally wear sensible shoes and don’t indulge in bear-baiting or country music, they too have joined the pimping revolution by expressing their personal proclivities via their mobile phones. In the beginning, all mobiles were universally Henry Ford black. Now even old age pensioners wave customised casings around, all lipstick colours, sparkles and cutesy-poo creature decorations. At least, that’s what mine’s like.

But I still suffer from a residual shame over my pimping habit, and like all instant gratification I feel guilty because of it. In fact while looking for a replacement machine recently, I have been quite attracted by one of those shapely models with a bit of sobriety, experience and bulk. And yes, before you ask, it’s black.

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22
Oct

Jeeni Weekly Round-up #2

Jeeni's weekly round-up of music and entertainment news. One in three music industry jobs were lost during pandemic In a report by UK Music, it was revealed that one in three music industry jobs have been lost as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The findings were published annual report, This Is Music 2021. According to the report, there has been a "devastating impact" on the music industry with 69,000 fewer jobs in 2020- a drop of 35%. Additionally, it was found that the music industry's contribution to the UK economy fell by 46%, from £5.8bn in 2019 to £3.1bn in 2020. Coronavirus enforced shutdowns of venues caused live music revenues in the UK to collapse by around 90 per cent in 2020, leaving many musicians, studio and venue staff without work. Music streaming market facing competition inquiry The UK’s competition watchdog is to launch an inquiry into the music streaming market and whether it is competitive and fair. Streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and Youtube will be looked at by The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli said: “The UK has a love affair with music and is home to many of the world’s most popular artists. We want to do everything we can to ensure that this sector is competitive, thriving and works in the interests of music lovers." COVID is 'creating a new genre' for live music Lockdowns have forced musicians to think of new ways to perform their music live. Many performing sets over live streaming to a worldwide audience. We've seen more cinematic experiences done by artists such as The Weeknd with his medley performance of Save Your Tears/In Your Eyes at last November's American Music Awards. Alex Lill, the creative force behind The Weeknd's recent videos and live performances, used a "single-shot tracking style and moved it outside onto the bare streets of Los Angeles, transforming the real-world Covid backdrop into his stage. Complete with fireworks, timed pyrotechnics and high-angle shots, it made the location and its atmosphere an active part of the performance." International touring DJ Hot Since 82 took to the sky using a hot air balloon as a new venue. Coldplay recieving backlash over "eco-friendly" world tour Coldplay has pledged to make their world tour eco-friendly, which will be powered with solar panels and kinetic dance floors. They have also modified effects such as lasers to be more energy-efficient, building their set from more sustainable materials such as bamboo and have pledged to plant a tree for every ticket sold. However, the band have received backlash that they will be continuing to fly by private jet. "And the people that give us backlash for that kind of thing, for flying, they're right. So we don't have any argument against that. Singer Chris Martin told the BBC " "We could stay at home and that may be better. But we want to tour and we want to meet people and connect with people - so try and do it in the cleanest way possible." Jeeni has always been eco-friendly and is something we are very conscious of as a company. Our audiences enjoy entertainment without the cost and pollution of travel, and all Team Jeeni works from home and meet up online. In Jeeni News Jeeni is Hiring! We are currently recruiting for the following roles: • Role 1: Marketing Assistant• Role 2: Marketing Executive (Digital Marketing)• Role 3: Marketing Executive (Public Relations)• Role 4: Jnr Developer• Role 5: Jnr Developer• Role 6: WordPress Specialist• Role 7: Senior Developer• Role 8: Senior Developer• Role 9: Sales Executive• Role 10: Sales Executive• Role 11: Partnership Co-ordinator These are Kickstarter Scheme positions (candidate must be aged between 16-24 and on, or have applied for, Universal Credit. If you'd like to apply for any of the above roles please send your resume to shena@jeeni.com

13
Aug

THE ETHICAL ANSWER TO THE GREAT STREAMING RIP-OFF

For too many years, the giants who control the world's music streaming services have been ripping off the creators and performers of the content that allows these services to exist. The figures are staggering, 355 million paying subscribers to an industry worth over twenty-four billion dollars a year. But most artists who provide the content don't earn enough from their monthly streaming royalties to buy a pizza. Now there is an ethical alternative, a streaming service run by artists for artists, where creatives and supporters own a share in the company and keep 100% of what they make. It's a Portsmouth-based venture called Jeeni. Last month, the UK Government report on the major streaming services painted a picture of a broken model that fails to reward musicians fairly. Superstar Nile Rodgers calls it a huge victory for his peers. “I want to believe in my optimistic heart and soul that things will change,” he told the Financial Times, after giving evidence to the Government committee. Rogers is appearing at the Victorious Festival in Jeeni's home town of Portsmouth, alongside a raft of artists who have set up their showcases on the Jeeni platform since their campaign was launched. The founders of Jeeni have a track-record of success, and include veteran entrepreneur Mel Croucher, who founded the UK videogames industry in the 1970s. He is joined by several GRAMMY-Award-Winners and celebrities, including Roger Watson, the ex-boss of Arista Records, responsible for selling over 500,000 records. "We've all made it to the top," says Watson, and now we're giving something back to a new generation. We've got the experience, they've got the talent. Now we're giving them all the tools they need to showcase their work on Jeeni, and get properly rewarded for their efforts, as well as own a piece of the action too." Jeeni's CEO, Shena Mitchell is also no stranger to successful start-ups. She founded The Innovation Warehouse and has now taken Jeeni to the crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, where budding superstars can own a slice of the company for less than the price of that legendary pizza. More information: jeeni.com/investhttps://www.crowdcube.com/companies/jeeni/pitches/qD0WNq

26
Apr

Profiiit ‘Alexander’ Album Review

This indulgent and impressive album from East Coast rapper, Profiiit might be his most creatively realised and polished project yet. Relatively new to Jeeni, Connecticut rapper, Profiiit has taken the hip-hop and rap channels to another level with his hard-hitting and thoughtful brand of introspective US rap music. He has recently contributed the entirety of this new album, ‘Alexander’ to his showcase. Check out his showcase on Jeeni here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/profiiit/ Throughout ‘Alexander’, Profiiit refuses to fall into the rut that so many rappers succumb to; repetitive beats, aimless song structures and uninspired lyrics. The way that Profiiit crafts these tracks, gives the impression that they’re important and demand your attention. Sometimes, Profiiit won’t feature his vocals until halfway through a track, because he’s not afraid to allow other components, features and instruments to shine and have their own moment before he contributes his poignant lyrics and flow to the pieces. Possibly inspired by Kendrick Lamar, recorded spoken word samples heard throughout add an intimate and real level of substance and insight into Profiiit’s life and backstory. Something that makes a huge difference compared to other artists is Profiiit’s evident prowess in editing down tracks, trimming off fat and streamlining his work. The songs get to the point when necessary and take their time at other moments, depending on the tempo and momentum held in the album’s listen. A tasteful and moving use of samples can be expected across this album, particularly in closers ‘Sodapop’ and ‘Red Baron’. Instead of just chopping up samples to construct the instrumental/beat and repeating sections over and over, samples are sometimes played unaccompanied for impact and as an effective means of progressing the tone and mood of the songs, this can be heard in ‘Yale (Josephine)’. A perfect selection and amount of featured talent embellish ‘Alexander’ without distracting or diminishing from Profiiit. Peso Dollaz provides a melodic, trap-esque verse for the second half of ‘sant_thegod’ that does well do diversify both the track and the entire album. East London Jeeni artist Jada Freeman provides her soulful singing for some essential backing vocals and hooks in ‘Triggaotto’. And the talented and upcoming Cool Que gives a semi-sung mumble-rap verse on ‘D.R.E’ which is a fantastic contrast from Profiiit’s clear, and distinct rapping. A fantastic and layered project from Profiiit, listen to it in full on Jeeni here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/profiiit/ How can Jeeni support artists like Profiiit? 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.

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