Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

INVITATION TO INVEST IN JEENI.COM

/ By Shena Mitchell
INVITATION TO INVEST IN JEENI.COM

The online platform where creatives keep 100% of what they earn, and audiences are rewarded every step of the way.

The Jeeni Additional Investment Period is now open to raise a further £100,000 via Instant Investment using the Seed Legals platform, with full EIS benefits. We have allocated this funding to extend our services in response to new market opportunities and conditions created by the pandemic. There has been an unprecedented demand from Jeeni members to provide bespoke user channels and direct marketing for online performances, goods and services. In addition, we are supporting our independent artists by matching them with music investors to finance studio time, video production, marketing and distribution of their original work, all as part of our Jeeni Pro service and social media systems. Due to the increased traffic, this is generating, we are migrating to the world-class AWS cloud platform. This £100,000 investment target is for 2.1% equity at the current pre-market valuation of £4.5million with a share price of £1.13p.

Major strategic partnerships have been consolidated by our US Managing Director, Kelli Richards. Former A&R Executive at EMI Music, she was mentored by Steve Jobs at Apple, where she launched and managed their music and entertainment division, resulting in the birth of global music online now known as Apple Music. Kelli is VP of Business Development with our US partnersAmplifyX.com, where investors back music they believe in, and she is a consultant to our streaming service partnersMultiViewMedia.co.uk, where viewers take control of their own entertainment experience. Both companies have joined Jeeni to produce J.A.M. (Jeeni, AmplifyX, MultiView), our series of online festivals where Grammy Award-Winners share the stage with our own brand-new talent. Our most recent festival was live-streamed on April 10th, and brought in over 10,000 new fans for our artists. Catch up with the event at jeeni.com/jam-festival.

We have three further announcements to make in this Investor Update. Firstly, in partnership with the Wings Tour Bus, artists voted most popular on Jeeni will appear on the Paul McCartney Stage when the most famous bus in the world goes on tour to mark the 50th anniversary of the original route. It has just been announced that the tour will follow a major publicity launch at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham UK this November.

Secondly, we are pleased to announce that we have bypassed the global shortage of PC and laptop components, and the first range of Jeeni own-brand computers is on sale at jeeni.com/shop.

And thirdly, we are proud to make this advance announcement that Jeeni has been selected for the world première of a major new opera set in contemporary New York. The subject matter is unique and the production is world-class. We will stream the event in partnership with MultiViewMedia and this marks a major milestone for our brand recognition. Investors will be given the opportunity to secure Virtual Green Room tickets and VIP access to the composer, the performers and the major celebrities behind the event, when the programme is officially announced next month.

We are opening Jeeni to investors worldwide for the first time, and are happy to declare our track record and current status to anyone who cares to visit jeeni.com/invest-in-jeeni. Your investment can be processed in as little as 30 minutes in the following simple steps.

1. You tell us how much you want to invest.

2. We add your details to the Seed Legals system, which calculates the shares to be issued.

3. We email you the Investment Proposal, Instant Investment Agreement and bank details.

4. You sign and witness the Agreement and your investment is transferred.

5. We agree to a Board Resolution and Shareholders Resolution and send form SH01 to Companies House for the issue of your shares. 

6. That’s it.

If you are still interested in investing in Jeeni please let us know so that we can send you the appropriate investment documents. 

15
Dec

Giack Bazz - 'Childhood Dream' Album Review

Back in 2016, Giack Bazz released his first album, ‘Childhood Dream’. The debut of the Italian singer-songwriter is a dazzling and transportive dive into nostalgia, sentimental imagery and grief. After losing his mother at a young age, Giack had a mountain of un-processed emotion that he had to unleash, and ‘Childhood Dream’ is packed to each corner with every truth and painful memory Giack had to give.  Although Giack has now expressed his talent and creativity across many ground-breaking projects, including a giant 366 track album as a part of ‘The Royalty Instrumentality Project’, it can sometimes be incredibly insightful to reflect on the origins and context of fascinating and experimental artists. By looking at where an artist has been, in contrast to where they currently find themselves, you can gain an informative, albeit condensed idea of their journey as a person as well as a creative. In many ways, this beautifully in-depth debut inadvertently set out a loose blueprint for Giack’s future as an artist.  In comparison to Giack’s later work, ‘Childhood Dream’ tends to have a more fundamental and focused attitude to instrumentation and production techniques. The simplicity and clarity in these stripped-back arrangements end up giving the album a charming and effective tone as it doesn’t distract from the source of the bitter-sweet narratives: Giack’s voice.   Speaking of Giack’s voice, it's so expressive and rich in this album which is only enhanced with the use of double-tracking which fills the stereo space up with his emotional intent. Giack harnesses deep-set and perhaps previously under-processed feelings and thoughts in his performances. As he put it himself, “The album is the closure I needed to my childhood. It is an acknowledgement, the acceptance that the dreams we have and the rose-tinted glasses we have are painful to remove.”  In terms purely of songwriting and production choice, ‘Morning’ is a clear highlight for me on this album. The decision to have thrashing, distorted guitar with no accompaniment other than Giack’s voice works so well in the choruses and draws attention to the part instead of masking it with layers of bass and drums. The reverb on the two parts that make up the song creates a clear physical space causing an authentic sensation of atmosphere and immersion.  The joyous home-video samples from Giack’s childhood, heard in the title track, have a slightly melancholic and touching intention relating to how he honours his late Mother. As Giack put it, “The songs have some noise collections from my family tapes and it's a way to honour her memory and to tell her that I understand why she tried to keep the truth.”  This album is often dark and pained, especially in the penultimate track, ‘Piazza Roma’. Although (unlike the others), the track is exclusively sung in Italian, I don’t believe understanding the lyrics is necessary to comprehend the pain in this harrowing and anguished piece. In the verses, the guitar is exhausted as though it itself is emotionally drained. It sluggishly carries the jangling chords all by itself, as Giack gives a similarly tired, yet determined vocal performance. Just before the choruses, a pause can be heard as though Giack is about ready to resign to grief, yet triumphantly, he rises up to sing his heart out in his native tongue.  With the ‘This Is the Beginning’ intro and ‘This Is Not the End’ outro, Giack opens up his personal origin yet refuses to close it at this point because although, as Giack stated, that without his childhood bereavement, “I’d be someone else”, the grief does not define him. He therefore leaves the album open and even ends it as it begins, with a repeating sole note on the piano, implying optimism, self-growth and a strength in accepting his past. A stunningly poignant close to this expressive and emotionally challenging debut.  How can Jeeni support artists like Giack Bazz?   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 Giack Bazz’s Showcase on Jeeni: https://jeeni.com/showcase/giack-bazz

23
Mar

Where Did All The Bands Go?

This month, Adam Levine of Maroon 5 caused a ripple when he was chatting to Apple Music's, Zane Lowe. Whilst referring to all the bands about in 2002 when they released their first album, he questioned, "where did all the bands go? I feel like they're a dying breed." After clarifying he meant bands, "in the pop limelight", it still managed to spark a mix of bemusement and outrage from some fellow artists. Maroon 5's Adam Levine - photo Mauricio Santana Though his remarks may have smarted somewhat, it can't be denied, he has a point! In the early 00's new bands were a dime a dozen, filling arenas and regularly collecting platinum discs. New TV talent shows such as Pop Idol and X Factor filled Saturday nights with girl groups and boy bands, but the trend is shifting. According to Dorian Lynskey in the Guardian, currently, there are nine groups in the UK Top 100 and only one in the Top 40. Two are the Killers and Fleetwood Mac, with songs 17 and 44 years old respectively, while the others are the last UK pop group standing (Little Mix), two four-man bands (Glass Animals, Kings of Leon), two dance groups (Rudimental, Clean Bandit) and two rap units (D-Block Europe, Bad Boy Chiller Crew). There are duos and trios, but made up of solo artists guesting with each other. In Spotify’s Top 50 most-played songs globally right now, there are only three groups (BTS, the Neighbourhood, and the Internet Money rap collective), and only six of the 42 artists on the latest Radio 1 playlist are bands: Wolf Alice, Haim, Royal Blood, Architects, London Grammar and the Snuts. Of course, radio and streaming are dominated by pop, rap and dance music but festival lineups don’t point to a golden age of bands, either. Of those that have emerged in the past decade, only half a dozen have headlined either Coachella, Reading/Leeds, Latitude, Download, Wireless or the main two stages at Glastonbury. That’s The 1975, Haim, alt-J, Rudimental, Bastille and Tame Impala, and the last of those is effectively a solo project. Only one band, the Lathums, appeared on the BBC’s annual tastemaking Sound of … longlist this year, which is not unusual: bands haven’t been in the majority since 2013. The album charts are still regularly topped by bands thanks to loyal fanbases who still buy physical formats – such as Mogwai, Architects and Kings of Leon in recent weeks – but not since 2016 has one hung on for a second week. So what happened? With even the largest, well known bands struggling to get into the Top 20 in the streaming world, could one theory be, solo artists are cheaper and easier to handle for the record labels? Apparently not, according to Dirty Hit label's, Jamie Osborne. His independent label is responsible for among others, Wolf Alice and The 1975, but he is still desperate to find the next band he can sign and develop. However, he's not finding it easy! The problem is, he says, there aren’t that many around. “It’s more likely now that a kid will make music in isolation because of technology. When I first met the 1975, they were all friends meeting in a room to make noise. So much is done in bedrooms these days, so you’re more likely to be by yourself.” The 1975 - photo Spotify Press Ben Mortimer, co-president of Polydor Records, says that cost is more of an issue for artists than for labels. “If you’re young and inspired to become a musician, you face a choice. If you go the band route, you need to find bandmates with a similar vision, you need expensive instruments and equipment, and you need to get out on the road to hone your craft. On the other hand, you could download Ableton [production software], shut your bedroom door and get creating straight away. Culture is shaped by technology.” So if the expenses are too high to even start a band, then rehearsal space and travel costs just add to the negatives. Does that mean bands and touring will only be for the rich, middle-class kids? “Social media has filled the hole, creating individual stars who are seen as more ‘authentic’ than anything the retro talent-show format could offer,” says Hannah Rose Ewens, author of Fangirls, a study of contemporary fandom. "Social media is built for individual self-expression. Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Twitter – and even the portrait orientation of a smartphone screen – give an advantage to single voices and faces while making group celebrity less legible.  Hannah Rose Ewens with her book 'Fangirls' The challenge posed by all pop cultural trends is to work out whether or not it is a permanent structural shift or just another phase. The right group at the right time, whether it is the Strokes or the Spice Girls, can change everything. In the short term, the pandemic has made it impossible for new bands to form and threatens the survival of the regional venue circuit on which they depend, while Brexit has thrown up expensive new obstacles for touring bands. Yet Jamie Oborne remains optimistic. “I’m excited about the wave of creativity that’s going to follow this period that we’ve just lived through,” he says. “I feel this hankering in youth culture for real experience and connection. I’m still quite the romantic when it comes to music. Look at Fontaines DC. I see a picture of them and wish I was in a band. It’s the same thing as walking down the street with your friends and feeling like you’re part of something. Anything’s possible.”

05
Jun

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