Love in the Time of COVID-19: Working Apart but Creating Together.

Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Love in the Time of COVID-19: Working Apart but Creating Together.

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. Today, Jeeni has returned to Crowdcube to raise more funds for helping new talent. If you want to see our pitch click HERE.

Today we showcase Sammie Venn as a very talented and creative writer.

“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it” – H.E Luccock

Sammie says, "Creativity brings people together. Artists, poets, writers and musicians have been forced apart, to distance, to isolate due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet collaboration has flourished. Adversity has brought us together to create in new and innovative ways. I have learnt over the years that it is not possible to be great at everything. Different skills that blend and morph with each other are key to an effective alliance. That’s where the magic happens.

I have forged a new partnership with a UK-based award winning sound designer to launch a series of poetry short films – I call them “Poetry Porn” – on YouTube as a prelude to publishing an anthology of work in the autumn. Joe Churchman and I have worked on various projects together over the years. She wrote and co-directed the multi-award winning short film “Gloop” and collaborated with Sir David Attenborough. Joe has worked with MC Saatchi and the BBC, her talents and eye for creativity know no bounds .

Where once we joined forces over the kitchen table, enjoying a glass of wine, we have been forced by the pandemic to find new ways of working together, including our latest venture. We both have a thirst for learning and a need to enthusiastically share and impart the wisdom we have gained. Creating during COVID-19 has been an exhilarating and challenging experience for us both, but one we have overcome and enjoyed with fervour and passion. Never before have Zoom, WhatsApp and the desire to teleport been at the forefront of our combined creativity. Despite the 50 plus miles between our respective homes the soul sister bond that we have nurtured over the years has never been lost.

The verve for all things lyrical has surfaced again whilst working on the Poetry films. Having created a series of 100 poems, I am now in the editorial process: altering verses, changing words and making sure rhythm, beat and iambic pentameter all synchronise.

The work embodies the emotive journey of womanhood: traversing sorrow, despair, anger and liberation. The natural environment heals all woes and this journey is told through the changes in season. Death, loss, renewal and growth are all subjects covered within the poems and the films. Winter teaches us how to be patient, to rest, hibernate and prepare for growth. Autumn helps us to embrace the process of letting go. Spring is a period of regrowth and birth. Whilst Summer is our time to blossom and burst into the most vibrant versions of ourselves.

In the depths of winter combined with a broken heart, “Kiss the Tinder” was born. Poetry was and still is my solace, it helped me to rediscover compassion, serenity and hope. I was lucky enough to meet a fellow poet and songwriter via the writing community on Instagram a couple of years ago, Renée is from Texas, so we have only ever virtually met but he kindly agreed to record this poem. A true gift. I woke one morning to his dulcet tones in my inbox, and with a voice of liquid silk, he is the soundscape to this film.

This Poetry Short is therefore a true collaboration. Global restraints from continental distance to COVID-19 have not curbed our resourcefulness. The project has only just begun. This poem was published in June in American Journal “The Starlight Emporium” along with a collection of my other work.

“Kiss the Tinder” by Sammie Venn

Kiss the tinder, fall in love with the ashes
The storm destroys the pain with lashes
Indigo shards, incandescent stains
Life blood flowing, ripped like veins.

Lightening shreds the Arial sky
It punches, spits and angrily cries
Glorifying the night with celestial screams
Mother Nature voices her savage dreams.

Dancing with Hope, thunder follows alongside,
For now, there is nowhere in the world to hide.
Like a love-lorn couple, they rampantly combust
Tears of anguish wash away rage and lust.

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07
Dec

Streaming Revenues - a tipping point?

At Jeeni, this is a subject we are following closely, being a platform set up to address this very subject. The balance of revenue on most platforms, is tipped far too heavily away from the artists, performers and writers, in favour of the suits and pen-pushers. Quite frankly, it's a disgrace! Jeeni's ethos is to ensure any performing members receive 100% of the revenue they generate. Should all streaming services work the same way? Journalist Dylan Smith, from Digital Music News has written the article below, updating how far the DCMS Committee has got with their fact finding and the issues to be presented on 11 December. Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee Chair Julian Knight. Photo Credit: David Woolfall British lawmakers have stated that artists are hesitant to participate in the ongoing investigation into streaming royalties “because they fear action may be taken against them” if they do so. The House of Commons’ Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMS Committee) announced the high-profile probe of streaming royalties last month. The comprehensive analysis aims to identify streaming’s impact on all relevant stakeholders, including labels and artists, as well as its long-term effects concerning “the sustainability of the wider music industry.” Last week, singer-songwriter Nadine Shah, Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien, and Elbow frontman Guy Garvey spoke before the DCMS Committee to address the contemporary music landscape. Of particular note was Shah’s statement that she doesn’t “make enough money from streaming” to cover her rent, despite having north of 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Possibly in response to the abundance of information that the investigation has turned up thus far, the DCMS Committee also announced last week that it had extended the window for artists and others to submit written testimonials regarding royalties. From the original deadline of Monday, November 16th, members of the music industry now have until Friday, December 11th, to express their opinions. The probe’s upcoming oral testimony, for its part, is slated to take place next Tuesday, December 8th, with Maria Forte Music Services’ namesake owner, Ferocious Talent owner Kwame Kwaten, and José Luis Sevillano, director general at Spain’s AIE, set to participate via livestream. Ahead of the formal sitdown, DCMS Committee Chair Julian Knight has relayed that many would-be witnesses are opting not to come forward due to their fear of the potential professional consequences associated with speaking out against streaming royalties. “We have been told from many different sources that some of the people interested in speaking to us, in relation to this inquiry, have become reluctant to do so because they fear action may be taken against them if they speak in public,” said the Solihull MP, who became the DCMS Committee’s chair in January of this year. “I would like to say on behalf of the Committee that we would take a very dim view indeed if we had any evidence of anyone interfering with witnesses to one of our inquiries. … This Committee will brook no such interference and will not hesitate to name and shame anyone proven to be involved in such activity,” continued Knight. And in concluding his statement on the matter, the lawmaker emphasized that others who reach out to the DCMS Committee with information or insight pertaining to streaming royalties “will be treated in confidence.”

01
Apr

MUSIC STARS JOIN NEW TALENT TO BEAT COVID

On April 10th seventeen acts from around the world will beat the pandemic restrictions and join together to perform in a virtual festival called JAM, and they guarantee complete unknowns will get equal billing with world-famous headliners. Grammy Award nominee Barrington Levy contributes from Jamaica, in defiance of the Covid virus. Spanish youngster BlueVein will multi-track his own backing from his bedroom. Number One Billboard Dance Chart star Zeeteah Massiah will appear in her own spectacular James Bond movie sequence. Indie rocker How Mean will perform from his grandmother's house in California. Daisy Chute, the lead singer with platinum-selling supergroup All Angels, performs live from her home in London with newcomers on the other side of the world in Australia. Grammy-Award winner Skyler Jett, whose Record Of The Year with Celine Dion for Titanic is the highest-grossing movie theme of all time, will perform his latest track with complete unknowns dancing in lockdown on every continent in the world. And more artists will beam in their contributions from Detroit to Brighton, from Northern Ireland to Rhode Island. The producer of JAM is Mel Croucher, veteran founder of the UK video-games industry, and creator of the world's first million-user viral marketing campaign. Mel says, "Members of my team have made it to the top. We've been responsible for over 500 million record sales over the years, we've pioneered the online music revolution, and now we're giving something back to help unsigned independents and new talent in an industry that all but collapsed in the face of Covid. We've got Paul McCartney's Wings Over Europe double-decker bus ready to roll out as a mobile live venue, and we can't even think about using it until the crisis eases. So we've gone online. This is our third online festival, and by far the biggest. And it's absolutely free." Mel goes on to explain why it's called JAM. "The Festival is a collaboration between three organisations. The J is for my own company Jeeni, where performers showcase their talent and keep 100% of everything they make. The A is for AmplifyX, based in Los Angeles, where you invest in artists you believe in. And the M is for MultiView Media, an amazing streaming platform where fans get to be the director and control the action." The JAM Festival is at 12 noon Los Angeles time, 8pm London time on Saturday April 10th 2021, free to live stream on: https://mvm.multiviewmedia.co.uk/jamfestival For further information etc... jeeni.com amlifyx.com multiviewmedia.co.uk

03
Sep

Own a stake in this Portsmouth-based start-up for just £10, and help musicians gain recognition and revenue!

Jeeni, the social music platform that brings artists closer to their fans – and shares revenue ethically – is poised to become the first Portsmouth-based start-up to go on Crowdcube for its third round. We have already raised 95% of our £100K target in four days. If you want to see our pitch click HERE. With 350million streamed music subscribers and market growth up by 39% this year, Jeeni is likely to ride the wave and be a huge success, not only with unsigned musicians and performers but with their superfans. “We’re standing by to raise £100,000 for 2.4% with a pre-market valuation£4M,” says Jeeni founder Shena Mitchell. “And while we are already negotiating with several major investors, the beauty of Crowdcube is that the artists themselves can actually own a stake in the company for as little as £10.” Shena continues, “Jeeni’s mission is to support unsigned music and performers, by helping them build a fanbase. We aim to fast-track careers in the music business, and make sure they take the lion’s share of the revenue that’s raised. Jeeni is needed more now than ever and we have proved that the demand is high. Currently we can only support 100,000 videos, so we must now move up a gear as we head for global roll-out. This Round Three investment will be used to scale up again and launch our next-generation platform. It will also be used to develop our IoS and Android apps." When the financial backing has been secured and we go live, we’ll be creating new jobs in the area, which is great for the local economy. When you consider the wealth of music talent in Portsmouth – hosting over 2,000 music events a year with Victorious, The Guildhall, Band Stand, Wedgewood Rooms, and all the Portsmouth Festivities and pubs – we’re alive to the opportunities of our local music culture, creativity and talent. But with live venues locked down for now, the online opportunity of Jeeni is needed more than ever. It’s so cool to think someone reading this might choose to invest in Jeeni now with just £10, and then use Jeeni to build their own fanbase for fame and success! We’re going to try hard to make sure that happens.” JEENI is currently inviting investment on Crowdcube. To find out how to get involved please join our mailing list for updates or check out our fundraising pitch. If you want to see our pitch click HERE.

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