Jeeni Monthy Round-Up, September

Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Jeeni Monthy Round-Up, September

Welcome to our new monthly blog update where we will discuss the latest news on topics such as streaming, music, performing, tech and all the other industries Jeeni aims to support.

Firstly, seeing as this is the beginning of the monthly round-ups we have broadened our news to cover the last few months. We wanted to begin by highlighting the long-awaited reopening of live music venues and the return of festivals to the UK! A Mast Journal on COVID-19 stated, “the COVID-19 outbreak has been framed primarily as an economic crisis, in which the music-based products and practices through which revenue is derived have been abruptly and, arguably, irreparably disrupted by a global public health emergency.” Many musicians struggled financially during this time, with many pleading to the public to help the industry. Thankfully by June 2021, the venues were able to reopen and festivals such as Reading, TRNSMT and Victorious were able to run once again. Members of Team Jeeni did an amazing job at Victorious, interviewing artists and showing our support to the industry and independent musicians.

A BBC article stated “Artists cannot truly operate without their fandoms. Fans can still congregate online while we wait for their return.” While everything was shut down artists had to change the way they communicated with their fans and find ways to gather in virtual spaces. Jeeni believes that even now when venues are open, artists and creatives will use online spaces more and more. Jeeni is a great platform for them to do this as it is more ethical than most of the larger corporations and Jeeni artists keep 100% of everything they earn.

The next topic we wanted to highlight was brought to our attention from an NME article: “Fewer than 800 UK musicians make a living solely from online streaming,” and also “A particular finding points to artists making a “sustainable living” from streaming alone, revealing that approximately 720 British artists are able to. Those 720 musicians fall into the 0.4 per cent category of those who are achieving more than one million UK streams.” It is clear it is already challenging for independent artists to make decent earnings from streaming but "Spotify’s New Marquee Promotion Feature Is Forcing Artists to Pay to Reach Fans They Already Have — As Much as $0.50 Per Click” says Digital Music News. The big players in streaming are continuing to rip off artists and their fans alike. The article goes on to state that “it would take artists anywhere from 100 to 167 streams (on Spotify) to break even on just one sponsored click. That means each person who clicks on a sponsored Marquee campaign would have to listen to a new album roughly 12 times for the artist to break even on that fan’s interest."

Thirdly, Twitch and the music industry clashed back in 2020 over licensing streamed music. Now a deal has been struck, but streamers are unhappy. Many streamers on the platform were hoping for a change but the deal remained virtually the same. "Only listen to safe music." All Jeeni royalty-free songs on the site are safe to use while streaming.

Fourthly, the New York Digital News site published a story surrounding TikTok and the platform’s new massive impact on music. Stating “TikTok is evolving into a very different kind of music streaming giant. TikTok creators who aren’t musical creators themselves are using music. Musicians get paid off the back of that, and it can become a healthy revenue stream. It helps break songs and artists, consumption goes up on the other platforms, more tickets are sold, a bigger live-streaming event can happen etc.”

Lastly, only just falling into the monthly round-up we wanted to highlight the release of the latest James Bond film No Time To Die. “One of the most famous pieces of film music of all time, this has featured in every single Bond film in some form or another since it played over the opening credits of Dr No back in 1962 is the John Barry & Orchestra, Monty Norman – James Bond Theme (1962)” Each film has a title song dedicated to it including the new track by Billie Eilish- No Time To Die. But the all-time Jeeni favourite has to be Paul McCartney's "Live And Let Die", which was written on the Wings Bus that Jeeni helped to rescue, and which goes back on the road next year. Watch this space for exclusive info on that one!

BACK

12
Mar

Jeeni Employing with the Kickstart Scheme

As a fast growing new business, still in its exciting dewy youth, Jeeni are delighted to be employing with the Kickstart Scheme. Launched by Rishi Sunak in July 2020, employers need to be approved by the DWP and are incentivised to take on 16-24 year olds, at risk of long-term unemployment. Jeeni - working with the Kickstart Scheme The successful Kickstart candidates are taken on for a placement of 6 months, given training and support to create skills to help with ongoing permanent employment. The criteria for Kickstart means the jobs offered must be new positions, previously not available at the company. For Jeeni, it works perfectly, as the company is growing and expanding at a rapid rate, so these roles have evolved naturally. Being an online streaming platform, Jeeni is perfect for this particular age group. Their online skills and technical ability, are almost second nature to them. Currently, there are three positions available, Marketing Assistant, Partnership Co-ordinator, Project Manager and joining the team will see these new team players taking on the social media platforms and the partners who work alongside and support Jeeni, evolving the planned projects for 2021 and brainstorming ideas for 2022 and beyond. Jeeni is delighted to be employing and partnering with the Kickstart Scheme. The whole team are looking forward to welcoming the new members, and working alongside them to keep building the Jeeni brand and grow the platform for all the artists, performers, talent and their fans. For more information or to apply for any of the positions available, follow the link below. www.jeeni.com/careers

04
May

Ariana May - ‘First Love’ Album Review

Ariana May’s first instrumental album is a delicate and stirring collection of piano excellence. Ariana May has been a vital Jeeni member for a while now and has developed an incredibly in-depth and fascinating showcase full of art-pop and remarkable talent. Recently, she has uploaded the entirety of her new instrumental album, ‘First Love’ on to Jeeni. Listen now via Ariana’s showcase available here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/arianamay/. As sweet and melodic her voice is, Ariana’s choice of expressing her compositions purely through her piano means that the structures are much more freeing and aren’t constricted to modern pop’s verse, chorus, verse, chorus, chorus forms. Her musicianship flows almost spontaneously; tempo decreases and increases as Ariana sees fit and phrases are fluid in length and timbre. The titles are excellent tonal suggestions as they act as a sort of starting point of picturing the imagery that Ariana clearly has in mind during both composing and performing these dramatic and theatrical pieces. Ariana May shows a real knack for cinematographic songwriting as it’s not difficult at all to imagine any one of these pieces as a perfect accompaniment for a location-setting scene in cinema. The final track, ‘Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow’ is exceptional, especially considering the tonal balance Ariana creates. A moody left hand mostly mumbles in a depressed, constant rotation of dark notes; meanwhile, the right is desperately trying to sound uplifting and optimistic through bright, ascending melodies and phrases. The two parts feel like two characters that are trying to influence the other to behave more like them at different moments of the piece, showing a vivid internal conflict, hence the ‘Sweet Sorrow’ in the title. The changes between these mindsets are sudden and frantic, a perfect representation of a troubled mind. What’s special about these types of projects is that a breakdown or analysis of these compositions could easily be miles from what Ariana had envisioned when writing it, but the freedom given to the listener with a vague title and complete absence of lyrics allows your imagination to fill in gaps and colour in the compositions with meaning and intention that makes most sense to you; it becomes personal. Throughout 'First Love', Ariana constantly shows an unprecedented level of emotion and control in her playing through her soft and poignant broken chords and melodies. Check out the entirety of this enchanting record on Jeeni: https://jeeni.com/showcase/arianamay/

25
Oct

Jeeni's Pick of the Week - Colectiva

Colectiva is a nine-piece ensemble exploring the spaces between Afro-Latin music and jazz while reflecting on themes of sisterhood and female empowerment. Exploring the boundaries between Afro-Latin music and Jazz, Colectiva are a unique voice on the UK scene. Representing the meeting of two musical worlds they believe belong together. Founded as a creative experiment by trombonist Viva Msimang. The group makes space for female and non-binary identifying musicians to collaborate in a new dynamic. An alternative to traditional hierarchical structures, away from the Male Gaze. In addition to exploring notions of sisterhood through their shared creative practice, empowering themselves and their audiences alike. Exciting projects like Colectiva are the type of talent that Jeeni supports on our platform. By creating showcases, and promoting them to an audience on jeeni.com Rooted in the sounds of Africa, Latin America and the diaspora, Colectiva's thoughtful and punchy arrangements are affectionately dubbed ‘jazz tropicaliente’ (hot-tropical-jazz). Released in collaboration with jazz pianist Maria Grapsa, the group’s debut single ‘Under The’ on Movimientos captures the essence of their shared creative practice. And has received support from the likes of Huey Morgan and Jamz Supernova on BBC Radio 6 Music. As well as Jazz FM’s Chris Philips and Tim Garcia, and Toshiro Matsuura and Papaoul on Worldwide FM. ‘Under The’ came to life when jazz Maria Grapsa brought an early arrangement of the tune to the collective. Working together over a series of collaborative sessions typical of their creative process, they crafted the song you hear today. Consisting of tormented melodies, jagged horn hits, and a rhythm section bristling with energy open the song, evoking sounds of struggle. Furthermore, the group won ‘Best Alternative Act 2019' at the UK Latin Awards. The exceptional Colectiva is set to step into their power in 2021, with two more singles with visuals planned, infused with the spirit of feminist activism. JEENI is a multi-channel platform for original entertainment on demand. We’re a direct service between creatives and the global audience. Firstly we give creatives, independent artists and performers a showcase for their talent and services. Secondly we empower our audience and reward them every step of the way.Thirdly we promise to treat our members ethically, fairly, honestly and with respect. Lastly and most importantly they keep 100% of everything they make. Check out Colectiva's showcase here on Jeeni: Colectiva | Showcase | JEENI Along with other showcases to add to your playlist.

Jeeni Blog