Independent Musicians and Performers Community Group

Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Independent Musicians and Performers Community Group

The Independent Musicians and Performers Community (IMAP) has been set up by the founders of Jeeni. Our Community is for everyone and anyone creative: musicians, voice-artists, performers, poets, singer-songwriters ... the list is endless. We connect, collaborate, share and support each other, while we have some fun and make a real difference. We are a completely independent group and have no interest in political debate in this community. We encourage our members to share their original music and performances.

Jeeni launched IMAP 28 days ago today with the single purpose of helping and supporting fellow artists with relevant news, blogs, stories, videos and top tips on how to cope in these challenging times.

We scan the media every day for what support is available for musicians and performers. We make it our mission to wade through lengthy documents and policies so you don't have to, and we grab the main highlights and takeaways to make it easy for you to absorb the plethora of information swimming around.

The industry is being very responsive and coming up with lots of ideas, like allowing artists to keep earning by adding donate buttons on streaming platforms. Some organisations are making grants available, some are discounting their streaming platforms, whereas others are allowing artists and fans to sign up for free. We expect to see many online services partnering with one another to combine their overall membership offerings, such as Soundcloud and Twitch. And we are very interested to see what the major global companies do and how they respond to these new and unknown market conditions.

How practical these ideas are in real terms, only time will tell, and we will keep an eye out for scams, as in this very sad and challenging time it's inevitable that many will try to profit from COVID - 19, by introducing unethical and downrights crooked practices. We are making it our mission to name and shame projects and organisations that are under scrutiny and suspect, and encourage our members to do the same.

IMAP is an active community group with over 1.2K new members in 28 days 2.8K approved for sign up, and 2.2K posts, comments and reactions. We very much want our members to invite their friends, families and other artists, we are all in this together and your great ideas need to shared. It doesn't matter where you are around the globe, and we would love to hear more about what other community groups are doing to support their members.

Take a look at the Independent Musicians and Performers Community and join us today. You will be welcomed with open arms. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2529935880656436/about/

Shena and Mel

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11
Jun

One of the world’s top record executives has joined Team Jeeni

Heard of Roger Watson? You’ve certainly heard his work. Grammy Award record producer with 500 million record sales to his name (and the velvet voice of the Viagra ads!) Now Roger is lending his experience and knowledge to help a new generation of undiscovered music talent in the Jeeni project. Jeeni is a streamed music service based in Portsmouth, and the company is endorsed by Richard Branson’s Virgin Crowdboost programme. Listeners get to vote on who joins the next generation of stadium stars, and the young hopefuls are guided by experienced professionals. And they don’t come more experienced than Roger Watson. He was stage manager to The Beatles, and he went on to produce best-selling albums for superstars like Blondie and Tina Turner, as A&R Director of Chrysalis Records and Managing Director of Arista Records. Welcome aboard! Roger Watson (right) with Jeeni founder Mel Croucher

12
Mar

Would You Sell Your Song Catalogue?

Today, we hear another mega-star has sold their song catalogue. This time Neil Young has agreed a deal and sold 50% of the rights to his entire back catalogue. Hipgnosis Song Fund purchased 1,180 songs by the Canadian musician in a deal that is said to be worth an estimated $150 million (£110 million), according to the BBC. Neil Young - Photo: Getty The Young acquisition comes after the company acquired the rights to 100% of former Fleetwood Mac singer Lindsay Buckingham‘s back catalogue and 50% of his future work this week, as well as Jimmy Iovine’s worldwide producer royalties. “This is a deal that changes Hipgnosis forever,” Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis said of the Young deal. Hipgnosis are known for turning royalties into a steady income stream – with the firm making money every time one of its songs is played on the radio or featured in a film/TV show. Other recent acquisitions by Hipgnosis include catalogues by the likes of Blondie, L.A. Reid, RZA and The-Dream. The company also purchased a publishing portfolio from Kobalt in September. The sale included songs by Fleetwood Mac, 50 Cent, Beyoncé and many others. The Neil Young sale seems to be part of the growing trend of artists cashing in on their lifetimes work. Bob Dylan was reported in December 2020 as selling to Universal Music. According to the New York Times, the music icon has sold his back catalogue for an eye-watering $300 million (£225 million), giving Universal the ownership of over 600 songs spanning a period of almost six decades. Bob Dylan - Photo: Getty While the deal means that Universal now control one of the most celebrated back catalogues in history, Dylan is also listed as the principal songwriter on the vast majority of efforts – which means Universal does not have to share future revenues with any other songwriters. In the same month, Stevie Nicks agreed a deal with Primary Wave for $100million, giving them 80% of her back catalogue which includes her 70's hit 'Dreams' just as it is making a Billboard comeback after going viral in the TikTok video of skateboarder Nathan Apodaca drinking Ocean Spray juice. To make these kinds of figures, you have to have a catalogue which will give the buyer a payback, but with younger bands such as The Killers doing the same, is this the best way for songwriters, singers and bands to create certain income? With the poor payouts from the online streaming platforms, it makes good business sense, but only for those able to create enough desired material. For those new and emerging creative stars, companies like www.jeeni.com and Patreon have been created to redress the balance, so revenue generated goes to the creators, not the suits and pen-pushers, meaning artists of the future will possibly be able to afford to create back catalogues and continue to benefit from them.

08
Sep

Martha Eve – Artist Focus

An up and coming artist like Martha is a rare gem. A young woman of 22, making waves in the acoustic scene, Martha Eve already has extensive experience in performing at festivals, including 2000 trees and Victorious Festival. Eve was a hit on the Jeeni sponsored People’s Lounge stage this year, part of the World Music Village sector of Victorious. The Arms Around The Child charity is responsible for the Village, their mission is to show love and care to children who have been diagnosed with HIV and aids. Martha’s newest outing ‘Cold’ is soulful and pure, her voice reminiscent of Scottish talent Nina Nesbitt’s earlier work. However she remains distinctly her own artist; with a heartbreaking chorus, ‘You feel cold to me, like an icy breeze, more bitter by the minute, soon you’ll be finished with me’, ‘Cold’ is a much more mature release than previous songs ‘Silly Mind’ and ‘Honeymoon Phase’. Eve states that ‘Cold’ is her most relatable song and that it is her ‘most honest and sad song’ to date. Born in South East London, Martha grew up in the countryside of nearby Kent, and can usually be found playing live shows in and around Brighton, honing her craft and winning over new fans all the time, with her calm yet sultry vocals that are not dissimilar to Jack Johnson. Martha is what’s becoming known as a ‘lockdown artist’, a creative person who has made the most of the recent pandemic by exploring their craft, and coming out the other end with a host of new ideas. In Martha’s case, although she couldn’t perform as she wanted, she wrote songs instead and is now ready to get releasing her wealth of creativity. Martha says she wrote ‘Cold’ about a lockdown romance, and didn’t expect it to become her first single, but at Jeeni, we’re sure our members will love her soulful and breathy vocals on the ballad. Listen to it HERE. Martha is releasing new music all the time, so make sure you keep an eye on Jeeni.com for an upcoming Jeeni exclusive interview with Martha Eve, where she will tell us all about her latest releases and future gigs. Here at Jeeni, we are so excited to welcome undiscovered artists just like Martha. Our platform breaks down the barrier between fan and artist to create a unique relationship and allows easy interaction. How does Jeeni support artists like Martha Eve? 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. · Join us at Jeeni.com

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