Investors flock to back anti-rip-off crowdfunder

Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Investors flock to back anti-rip-off crowdfunder

Yesterday's Government report took months to come to a conclusion that every musician has known for years. Performers are getting ripped off by the streamed music giants. "While streaming has brought significant profits to the recorded music industry, the talent behind it sees pitiful returns," said Julian Knight, MP. Now, Her Majesty's Government intends new legislation to give musicians and songwriters the right to "equitable remuneration", but like so many empty promises and good intentions that may be an ambition which proves impossible to deliver.

But there is an ethical alternative to the problem. It's an online app called Jeeni. On Jeeni, artists and creatives keep 100% of everything they earn, and thousands of performers are already on board, with an audience outreach that has grown to over two million. The growth of Jeeni has been so fast that they marked yesterday's Government promises by turning to crowdfunding to expand their capacity to meet demand, raising over £46,000 in a few hours.

Check out their campaign HERE and join the list of supporters and celebrities who are flocking to the cause.

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06
Jun

Let the Music Play and Save Our Venues

You may have seen the hashtags going around today #LetTheMusicPlay and #SaveOurVenues. If you were wondering what it's all about, an open letter has been issued. THIS is what is happening ? Some 1,500 acts including Ed Sheeran, Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones urge the British Government to save the country's live music industry from collapsing because of coronavirus. Coldplay, Eric Clapton, Sam Smith, Rod Stewart, Liam Gallagher, Iron Maiden, Dua Lipa, Skepta and Florence + the Machine were also signatories to an open letter warning that the ongoing shutdown threatens thousands of jobs. They cited new research showing that live music added £4.5 billion ($5.6 billion, 5.0 billion euros) to the British economy and supported 210,000 jobs across the country last year. Live music has been one of the UK's biggest social, cultural, and economic successes of the past decade. But, with no end to social distancing in sight or financial support from government yet agreed, the future for venues, concerts and festivals and the hundreds of thousands of people who work in them looks bleak. Until these businesses can operate again, which is likely to be 2021 at the earliest, government support will be crucial to prevent mass insolvencies and the end of this world-leading industry. On July 2nd 2020, the Concert Promoters Association and a coalition of live music businesses including artists, venues, concerts, festivals, production companies and industry figures launched a campaign to highlight the importance of the sector to the UK’s economy. The campaign asked people to share on social media a film or photo of the last gig they played or saw with the hashtag #LetTheMusicPlay. If you’d like to add your support, you can download shareable graphics and quotes from some of the country’s biggest artists here. Post them on your social media to show how important UK live music is to you, and don’t forget to use the hashtag #LetTheMusicPlay. Read the joint letter Dear Secretary of State, UK live music has been one of the UK’s biggest social, cultural, and economic successes of the past decade. From world-famous festivals to ground-breaking concerts, the live music industry showcases, supports, and develops some of the best talent in the world – on and off-stage. As important as it is, our national and regional contribution isn’t purely cultural. Our economic impact is also significant, with live music adding £4.5bn to the British economy and supporting 210,000 jobs across the country in 2019. Like every part of the entertainment industry, live music has been proud to play our part in the national effort to reduce the spread of Coronavirus and keep people safe. But, with no end to social distancing in sight or financial support from government yet agreed, the future for concerts and festivals and the hundreds of thousands of people who work in them looks bleak. This sector doesn’t want to ask for government help. The promoters, festival organisers, and other employers want to be self-sufficient, as they were before lockdown. But, until these businesses can operate again, which is likely to be 2021 at the earliest, government support will be crucial to prevent mass insolvencies, and the end of this great British industry. Government has addressed two important British pastimes – football and pubs – and it’s now crucial that it focuses on a third, live music. For the good of the economy, the careers of emerging British artists, and the UK’s global music standing, we must ensure that a live music industry remains when the pandemic has finally passed. Yours, Leading UK artists, music professionals & venues (read the full list of signatories here) Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com

26
Aug

Bradley Jago - A Brilliant Artist Exploring Queer Identity

When you first listen to Bradley Jago, right away, you are overpowered by the sheer force of his voice. It takes centre in what feels to be an intimate stage, one that exists outside of space and time, where you and only you become privy to not only the beauty of Jago’s soulful voice, but also the profoundness of his lyrics. Rain is a song that is full of feeling, full of something rare in music - accountability. Jago tells me that the song is about change, letting the rain wash over you and forgetting the mistakes that you’ve made. He asks if we can hear the rain pour, and we can. Behind the beat, there is the unmistakable pitter patter of gentle rain sounds. But this question conceals another. When talking to Jago about the intention of the song, he told me: “I was… looking back at everyone I dated and I was like “Oh damn, there’s some people that I’ve actually fucked over a little bit.” … And Rain is an apology to those people, to say I’ve changed now, and even though I have caused you pain, I hope we can move forward after. [It] is a metaphor for the pain I have caused them.” The song itself has smooth jazzy influences. Jago’s clear voice overlaps itself in a layered harmony with a gentle underscored bass, Jago seemingly having a quiet moment of reflection to himself, as he sings to “let it rain”. The song’s intimacies are intentional. According to Jago “It’s kind of like a quiet moment to yourself. You’re at the gig with me in this intimate venue.” Then, the drums kick in. There is a desperation to the song emphasised by the changed tempo - the emotion becomes fevered as he sings “let it rain” - the words repeating, creating a heightened emotional effect - it feels as if he is begging, bargaining, hoping. There is no longer just a sweetness and a softness and a sadness. There is a frenzy, a fury to be understood. And that’s what love, remorse, and pain is like. There’s also important depth to be acknowledged within Jago’s music. Jago himself is a queer artist, who writes from the queer perspective. Why is this important to be acknowledged? Because in a song that is this intimate and honest, you need to understand why it is also brave. Queer identity comes with an enormous amount of negatives - it’s a terrifying thing to out oneself, and make yourself inherently vulnerable to the disdain of others, and also yourself. Jago is changing the game by bringing this honesty to his music, in a world where queer people still find themselves being judged, discriminated against, the context of one love song can change from being a sweet romantic piece to a dramatic profession of bravery. Jago is interested in analysing both sides of the spectrum of queer experience. “I think I’d want to write about the negatives [of queer identity]. Being queer is celebrated a lot (as it bloody well should be). But also there are negatives that people aren’t talking about.” It’s important to note that queer art, music and writing should not be made distinct by its queerness. Of course it adds depth and context to the art itself, but it is important to acknowledge the art as full of feeling, and therefore, universality. As Jago himself points out: “If I can relate to a straight song, a straight person can relate to my queer song.” So what’s in store for Jago for the future? He is doing festivals Victorious, and The People’s Lounge - “Because the music is so honest, I don’t want to do too much to the music. I want it to be really raw and still sound great - but very authentic and sound like it’s coming from my soul.” He also tells me: “I’m writing a track at the moment called ‘New Gay Sadness’ (there’s a little snippet available on Jago’s instagram) - it’s about the gay yuppies in London who are living their life but cannot find love. There’s a lot of pressure… ‘okay, we’re getting to a place of equality, still a long way to go… it’s like ‘oh you should be happy now’ but you have all these other life pressures of why aren’t you in a relationship. Why haven’t you achieved this yet?’” You can catch Bradley at the Victorious festival on the People's Lounge stage at 5:10pm on the 27th of August. Listen to his amazing track RAIN here Here

06
Jun

My Lockdown A-Z Happiness Manifesto – Why imagination, creativity and gratitude can be a cure for all.

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. Jeeni returned to Crowdcube to raise more funds for helping new talent and has already raised £93K, our target is £100K and we have 27 days to go, so we are likely to overfund, which is just amazing. Thanks again to all our wonderful investors. If you want to see our pitch click HERE. Today we showcase Sammie Venn as a very talented and creative writer. I have always been fascinated by the power of the human imagination: the capability of the brain and its capacity to unlock a unique world for every person on the planet. Our thoughts are as unique as fingerprints, so powering up the hippocampus to unravel the labyrinth of our minds can be even more challenging when we are physically isolated from those we love and care for. Lockdown has given us all time to think, sometimes overthink, and evaluate key priorities. These thoughts are often fear-based and at other times they are fuelled by excitement and possibility. At the beginning of COVID-19 I had a long list of ‘lockdown goals’ that I wanted to achieve. I thought I would be able to use the time efficiently to compartmentalise my life, throw some order at the chaos and come through the other side a more polished version of myself. Of course nothing ever goes according to plan. Therefore it felt like the right time to seize the day and further the knowledge and understanding of the human mind, body and soul. The relevance of which resonates even more after being catapulted into a matrix that can only described as something akin to Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’. Hermann Hesse, German-born Swiss poet, painter, novelist and writer wrote: “I have been and still am a seeker, but I have ceased to question stars and books. I have begun to listen to the teaching my blood whispers to me.” His works explore how an individual searches for authenticity, spirituality and self-knowledge. Unsurprisingly, he won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1946 and has been a real influence when it comes to deciphering principles relating to what education means to me. Kindness, hand in hand with knowledge, is key in my happiness manifesto. September has always been my favourite time of year, a throwback to academia. However online courses in every arena conceivable have become the new normal. We have been unable to sit in classrooms or studios with our fellow peers, so zoom has become the portal for the education of the masses, including our children. The upside is that teaching has become readily accessible and certainly not restricted to certain times of the year. We can learn in the comfort of our own homes, in our pyjamas, with a cup of tea, glass of wine or even sat in the garden. However education is not just about studying for an end goal, its about embracing all that surrounds us, what our culture has to offer and the lessons that we can learn from that. Music teaches us how to express our emotions, whether that is through song writing, performing, dancing or just singing in the shower. We can develop our understanding of life’s twists and turns on a completely different level. The world of music teaches us not just about love, lust, happiness and passion but also about the bonds we have with our fellow human beings. It also lectures us on history, politics and sociology. Music is a platform that enhances our understanding of the world in a magical way, we remember song lyrics, we remember nursery rhymes, we remember the chants and hymns of our ancestors. We learn to come back to ourselves through the power of sound. My education in lockdown encompassed all these salient points. I reconnected on all levels with my hearts centre and created a lockdown happiness manifesto, which by and large I have managed to stick to. My A-Z goes something like this: Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com

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