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

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Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

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.

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05
Jun

What can the music industry do to reduce its carbon footprint?

The carbon impact of all those gigs and gatherings is up for debate more now than ever, big acts such as ColdPlay and Massive Attack have cancelled gigs until they can measure the impact on the environment. But not all artists are in a financial position to cancel all their gigs and many artists rely on touring for an income. Let's be real most musicians and performers can not afford an environmental consciousness. Today on Radio 4 Tom Heap asks what the music industry can do to reduce its carbon footprint. Tom spoke to various different artists and also interviewed the founders of Music Declares Emergency - No Music On A Dead Planet https://www.musicdeclares.net/. The main three areas for discussion included the emissions for the band travelling, moving the equipment, the venue emissions and the impact of audiences travelling to and from the event. Having listened to the show I checked out Music Declares Emergency - No Music On A Dead Planet https://www.musicdeclares.net/ which advocates the following: We call on governments and media institutions to tell the truth about the climate and ecological emergency.We call on governments to act now to reverse biodiversity loss and reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2030.We recognise that the emergency has arisen from global injustices and will work towards systemic change to protect life on Earth.We acknowledge the environmental impact of music industry practices and commit to taking urgent action. We have signed up and will follow Music Declares and are very interested in how our members can benefit, however the interview raised many contradictions and many of the suggestions for us were very weak and hypocritical. But it is very tough debate. We get that. To summaries the main suggestions in the interview with Tom included the following: Standard riders to not include plastic Not to allow single use plastics at events Always use renewable power sources when you can Event organizers to insist on recycling as a priority Working with responsible corporate partners Not to work with financial institutions that are not responsible Using LED lights to reduce energy use Put restrictions on touring, travelling and taking less equipment Use streaming media as an alternative to reach audiences Do not fly around the world to shoot gigs on environmental change Going on a bus rather than taking your own car Car share Put pressure on venues to be more environmentally friendly Getting rid of plastic CD cases Ecological packaging Environmental merchandise and use organic materials Higher train usage, go car free Ecological and renewable streaming and data storage Rent all the equipment at location and not travel with all the kit you need Do not produce and sell vinyls The largest omissions on carbon footprint is the audience travelling so a main argument from the artist is that they need to travel to the audience. Surely, the suggestions made in the interview is not enough and it will not deliver the outcomes to climate change that is needed, it is sycophantic and feeble for global change. In our view the recommendations and solutions suggested are not sustainable themselves. However, Music Declares Emergency have a great section on their website which is much more comprehensive and lists about actions for artists, songwriters, producers, a label, publisher, a venue, festival live music promoter, manager, agent and fan. So we are going to support them.

03
Mar

Jeeni's Official Photographer is outstanding.

WOW check out Sharron Goodyear's recent photo shoot with Suzy Bastone who lives in Brazil. Sharron is an Award-Winning International Photographer and Film Maker, having won Fashion & Boudoir Photographer of the Year through the Master Photographer Association, Sharron has 14 years of industry experience. Suzy Baston says: "A huge thank you to Sharron Goodyear Photographer for these amazing new business shots that made me feel just that. From the UK to Brazil, we had a wonderful ‘virtual shoot’ through FaceTime of all things! Social distancing to the extreme. Who knew photos could be so wonderful in this way? I’d forgotten how fun photo shoots can be and wow, what a huge difference to my own poxy attempts. It certainly is testament to Sharron’s amazing talent. This wonderful woman is an international award-winning photographer known for creating empowering portraits of entrepreneurs to help them establish more visibility online. With her sense of integrity and personal shine she naturally possesses, she makes it so easy for us to ‘feel beautiful’ in our own skin. A part of confidence-building I shall forever stand by." Sharron specialises in working with entrepreneurs, musicians, performers and artists from around the world. Her photo-shoots are VIRTUAL, enabling her to work with a global client base, directly from her studio, helping us gain greater visibility on our social media as a result. Sharron is super-talented, very professional, has a real eye for positioning the camera, and has perfect attention to detail, the ideal combination of skills for Jeeni artists and performers. Sharron says: “Being a photographer is a great privilege for me and it has given me the opportunity to document so many beautiful aspects of people’s life journeys. Some of these people are now great friends. I am lucky enough to say I am truly passionate about what I do. Many people hide away from having their photographs taken because they don’t feel confident in how they look in front of the camera or don’t think they are photogenic. My mission is to change that belief and I want to take the best photograph you have ever seen of yourself. The VIRTUAL sessions are incredibly good fun and very relaxed and I will give you lots of direction to help you feel at ease. At the time of booking, I will talk you through everything you need to know so there are no need for nerves – just excitement! I can take a range of photos through an IPhone connection or Zoom, whatever you would prefer from the comfort of your own home anywhere in the world.” We highly recommend that you get your VIRTUAL shoot booked NOW. Check out Sharron https://sharrongoodyear.com Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com

10
Jun

Jeeni a more robust music ecosystem for everyone.

The music industry is at a critical inflection point. After years of declining sales and waning fan enthusiasm, the rise of streaming has ushered in a new golden era for an industry that has benefited artists, songwriters, copyright owners, and fans alike. In 2019, streaming was the engine driving revenue growth in the US music industry for the fifth consecutive year. Download the 2020 Streaming Forward report, featuring the latest updates on streaming’s role in the music industry, how digital discovery is elevating new artists and genres, and what we can expect ahead. The Evolution of the music industry over the the last two decades has been staggering. The rise of streaming has revolutionized all facets of music, empowering artists and creators by expanding their access to fans, allowing music listeners to seamlessly connect with their favorite songs whenever and wherever they want, and driving new music choice and creativity. For fans, copyright owners, and creators alike, the positive impact of this evolution has been monumental: with total music stream reaching the one trillion mark in 2019, fans are listening to more music than ever before, and the industry is enjoying a multi-year growth cycle driven by the streaming economy. Over the next seven years the streaming revolution will only grow more powerful. Fast-forwarding we can expect: Forecasts remain just that of the industry's trajectory in the future. While the impacts of Covid-19 are still being felt, and have undoubtedly impacted the music industry, we can expect streaming growth to continue. What we cannot forecast is what new music consumption behaviors might surprise us, and new innovations by the streaming services that we have not begun to see. But with growing optimism and increasing inward investment attracted by the streaming-driven hyper growth, the music industry is experiencing boom times – for consumers,record labels and publishers and most of all creators. Click here to view the 2020 Streaming Forward Report. Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com

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