More Than Just Music with Jeeni

Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

More Than Just Music with Jeeni

So far, 2021 has been a very busy year for the Jeeni team, so what's new? The platform is growing and growing, and it's more than just music with Jeeni. The first job was to update the website. The look changed, the user experience was enhanced and new channels were added, allowing all the varied talent joining us is easier to find.

More than just music, means we welcome all the trades that support the industry, plus the industries that benefit from music itself. The new look channels added, mean we can offer separate sections for all these extra and supporting parts of the creative world. Our Goods and Services channel now gives members access to tutorials for singing, including Opera and Classical, guides to performance prep, as well as studio production. There is also advice on optimising your social media, recording your music, graphics and album artwork. And when the world seems to be spinning at 100mph, you can find help to unwind and seek peace and calm.

In the Masterclasses channel, users can sharpen their skills from drums to guitar, and even try the bass guitar lessons from the legend Suzi Quattro. If you require the services of a photographer, director or editor, you can search the various talents listed in the Photography and Videography channel. Or follow the guides on how to do it yourself , even on a limited budget. Plus Jeeni's own image welder, Sharron Goodyear with her special rate offer for a 'virtual shoot' exclusive to our subscribers. Should you be thinking of going before the lens, you could check out the services in the Style and Grooming channel to grab some tips on all aspects of hair, make-up, style and image.

Not forgetting the next generation of creatives, we have a special channel for Juniors to go to for music, dance, stories, teaching and performance tips aimed at the younger musicians and dancers. We are also building the Audio Books channel to encourage writers of stories for children and young adults. Not excluding the oldies, there are currently 31 episodes of Stephen Palmer's 'Hairy London' for the adults to immerse themselves in.

One of our most exciting, up-coming channels is Royalty-Free Music for Dancers. Whether your routines are for performance or competition, using other peoples' music can be problematic and expensive. So, Jeeni has set up a channel specifically to address this issue. We are approaching some of our big name contacts, asking them to contribute to this cause and the response has been fantastic, so keep an eye out for the new uploads. If you are willing to allow your music to be used royalty-free, then please think about giving others the benefit of your talent and share the love by uploading to this specific channel.

Check out the new look site, build your showcase and get uploading and sharing!

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06
Jun

Why weird is my new wonderful.

By Sammie Venn Jeeni's Official Writer, Columnist and Blogger. The dictionary definition of weird is “extraordinary, out of this world” I remember the feeling of utter hope and merriment when I read that. I suddenly didn’t feel alone anymore. Once I fully released my inner oddball, the magic started to happen. The people who I thought I loved and loved me just fell away. It was like watching grains of sand slip through my fingers. At the time it felt like a gigantic loss but in hindsight it was the best gift I could have been given. I’m grateful every day for all the losses as what I have gained surpasses anything I could have dreamt of. I came out of the “kooky closet” said a tentative hello to my new surroundings and have never looked back. Having always felt like I had trodden a different path in life, I used to feel embarrassed about my so called “weirdness”. A damaging label that was attributed over the course of many years. Always being on the periphery at school, shallow friendships and poor choices in men made me feel like there was something wrong with me. Decades later I began the journey of coming to terms with whatever it was that made me feel a bit different. I read countless books, watched documentaries on Gaia, downloaded as many spiritual audibles as I could afford and after a period of counselling I realised that actually being “different” totally rocked and I certainly wasn’t the only one experiencing all those feelings of self-doubt. Self-doubt had finally set sail to distant shores and my passport to a happier more soulful life had been stamped with creativity with no expiration date. My wired but wonderful List...So I’m not ashamed of saying that... 3am – the hour of writers, poets, musicians, silence seekers and overthinkers – In this crazy time that is 3am I really do achieve a lot of work. The silence is accompanied with prolific bird song and the sunrise paints a spectacular sunset across the fields. So there is no better landscape for creativity. Gardening at Night -I water my roses at midnight in an old fashioned Victorian nightie with a gin and tonic in hand. The kiss of the night time breeze provides a magical space to reflect on the past 24 hours and plan the next. Adventure at work -I have made a home office in my camper van and drive to various different places to work and mediate and be away from the humdrum of daily life. I need to be portable otherwise I feel stagnant and confined. My camper caters for most needs; a whistling kettle for fresh coffee, a writing station and insanely comfortable bed for those cheeky afternoon power naps. Writing Erotica -I love to write erotic poetry and have an entire bookcase at home dedicated to naughtiness throughout the ages. Ancient manuscripts and recent tomes dedicated to Love, and all of the emotions surrounding it adorn the shelves. Wild words and Soul Magic - I have about 10 different tarot desks I particularly Love Rebecca Campbell’s “Work your light” the illustrations are as magical as her words. I love to practice either quietly by myself or with my bestie in London. We savour our weekends as they are few and far between these days but we still write together and have created different worlds where we pretend to live like we were once warrior soul sisters. In fact lockdown has been perfect for that. There are so many other things I do in my arsenal of “weird but wonderful” and I wouldn’t be without any of them now. Lewis Carroll wrote in “Alice in Wonderland” “you’re mad, bonkers, completely off your head. But I’ll Tell you a secret. All the best people are”. Definitely my mantra, it even sits as a plaque on my wall in the studio. Have you got any practices or quirks that you embrace? We would love to hear about them. Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com

12
Mar

Would You Sell Your Song Catalogue?

Today, we hear another mega-star has sold their song catalogue. This time Neil Young has agreed a deal and sold 50% of the rights to his entire back catalogue. Hipgnosis Song Fund purchased 1,180 songs by the Canadian musician in a deal that is said to be worth an estimated $150 million (£110 million), according to the BBC. Neil Young - Photo: Getty The Young acquisition comes after the company acquired the rights to 100% of former Fleetwood Mac singer Lindsay Buckingham‘s back catalogue and 50% of his future work this week, as well as Jimmy Iovine’s worldwide producer royalties. “This is a deal that changes Hipgnosis forever,” Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis said of the Young deal. Hipgnosis are known for turning royalties into a steady income stream – with the firm making money every time one of its songs is played on the radio or featured in a film/TV show. Other recent acquisitions by Hipgnosis include catalogues by the likes of Blondie, L.A. Reid, RZA and The-Dream. The company also purchased a publishing portfolio from Kobalt in September. The sale included songs by Fleetwood Mac, 50 Cent, Beyoncé and many others. The Neil Young sale seems to be part of the growing trend of artists cashing in on their lifetimes work. Bob Dylan was reported in December 2020 as selling to Universal Music. According to the New York Times, the music icon has sold his back catalogue for an eye-watering $300 million (£225 million), giving Universal the ownership of over 600 songs spanning a period of almost six decades. Bob Dylan - Photo: Getty While the deal means that Universal now control one of the most celebrated back catalogues in history, Dylan is also listed as the principal songwriter on the vast majority of efforts – which means Universal does not have to share future revenues with any other songwriters. In the same month, Stevie Nicks agreed a deal with Primary Wave for $100million, giving them 80% of her back catalogue which includes her 70's hit 'Dreams' just as it is making a Billboard comeback after going viral in the TikTok video of skateboarder Nathan Apodaca drinking Ocean Spray juice. To make these kinds of figures, you have to have a catalogue which will give the buyer a payback, but with younger bands such as The Killers doing the same, is this the best way for songwriters, singers and bands to create certain income? With the poor payouts from the online streaming platforms, it makes good business sense, but only for those able to create enough desired material. For those new and emerging creative stars, companies like www.jeeni.com and Patreon have been created to redress the balance, so revenue generated goes to the creators, not the suits and pen-pushers, meaning artists of the future will possibly be able to afford to create back catalogues and continue to benefit from them.

19
Jan

Artist Focus: Respite

This compelling five-piece formed from an amalgamation of previous bands, mindsets and connections and arose in 2020 as a formidable and commanding alt-rock/pop-punk force known newly as ‘Respite’. Respite joined forces with Jeeni earlier this year and since then, Jeeni has been hard at work trying to elevate, uplift and support this fantastic group by providing an ethical worldwide platform for their hard-hitting and refreshing craft. Respite is: Andrew Vaughan & Euan Macqueen as guitarists, Ross Crawford on the bass, Reiss Mcleod on the drums and Sam Nicholson on the vocals. Hailing from Glasgow, the group once known as ‘Finding Argyle’ committed to a brave yet necessary brand change as their sound and creative habits organically shifted and evolved over the major lockdown in 2020. The group formed as the five-piece they’re known as now back in 2015 as a result of recurring opportunities and coincidences and so, the band’s current synergy took shape as a perfect act of fate. Their days as ‘Finding Argyle’ were decidedly grittier with tracks like ‘Spit’ and ‘Love Like Violence’. Their newer form, ‘Respite’ made a subtle, yet noticeable adjustment in their tone. The lightheartedness was slightly increased as a result of the more melodic and pop-punk inspirations for writing choruses. Vocalist Sam Nicholson is the primary conveyor of their new-found catchiness, held mostly in the anthemic choruses that parade accross most of their spirited songs. The change in vocal style is at times, reminiscent of the much more pop influenced rock style of ‘Deaf Havana’. Although Respite generally embraces slightly less dark style of songwriting and performing, that doesn’t account for exceptions such as the deeply compelling and hard-hitting ‘Chemical Sleep’. The music video for which is simple, yet genius; contained in a cramped, red room, the group’s performance energy is barely contained and fills the space to the brim, matching the mood and vigor of the piece to a tee. Another noticeable and welcome advance in style came from the increased use of synthesis, thanks to guitarist, producer and mastering engineer, Andrew Vaughan. Sam Nicholson put it simply yet aptly that Vaughan is “quite the wunderkind”. On top of mixing and mastering the tracks, Andrew also manages all of the recordings for the group, effectively doing the work of about 6-10 people when compared to a standard studio set-up. Speaking of, the sound achieved from Respite really is that of a fully-fledged studio arrangement. Clear, concise and tight to a fault, the production and overall contribution from Vaughan is nothing other than remarkable. As a Glaswegian act, I was interested in the band’s opinion on how the impressive lineup of Scottish rock groups break the mould when compared to that of English or American rock efforts. After conferring with the other members, Sam told me that “I think there's something about the vocals which usually sets them apart, whether that is just the accent, or the way it hits the ear, it does stand out more often than not.” As obvious as it might sound that the iconic Scottish voice plays a major role in differentiating this specific Celtic brand of the same genre from others, it’s nevertheless a profound point that voices from different tribes will react with the ear in different ways. It implies a fascinating discussion about how different ethnicity's natural voices can induce different subconscious responses in listeners. Sam also voiced a tentative concern with lumping acts into the non-genre of Scottish rock and how it can at times be presumptuous, “I personally sometimes wonder if it's too easy to be lumped into "Scottish Rock" and then you're trapped there. It's a double-edged blade though, because, who wouldn't want their name next to bands like Biffy and Fatherson?” It certainly is an under-considered issue of generalising and connecting Scottish acts purely for being Scottish. It unintentionally strips individuality from these fantastic acts like Respite. Although, as Sam points out, it’s not exactly a bad thing to be mentioned among the greats of Scotland. A double-edged blade indeed. Careful not to mention something the group isn’t ready to divulge just yet, Sam did allude to the future of Respite, “We're currently planning our second EP after a great response to the new tracks, and we're hoping to follow that up with a tour of Scotland, and potentially head down south.” How can Jeeni support artists like Respite? 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 Respite’s Jeeni showcase here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/respite-band/

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