Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Never too late for Jeeni!

/ By
Never too late for Jeeni!

by Mel Croucher

I was a young man living in Stockholm. It was the summer of 1969 and I was flat broke. I had the clothes I stood up in, a diploma in architecture and a kazoo. I was too shy to be a busker, so I invented pay-on-demand live-streamed entertainment. I became a human jukebox. I got me an abandoned cardboard box just about big enough to hide inside, and I cut a horizontal slot near the top for my media input/output. Below the slot I punched eight holes to act as the graphic user interface. The reason there were eight holes was because I only knew eight songs, and I scrawled the song title alongside each hole. The idea was for passers-by to provide me with digital input commands by sticking their finger through the hole of their choice, and I would give them a short rendition of the selected song on my kazoo. As a token of their appreciation they would reward me with loose change dropped through a small vertical slot labelled Thank You in English and Swedish. It was very hot squatting inside that box.

So here we are, more than half a century later, and the music industry should be in crisis. As a result of the pandemic, artists and musicians have seen their venues close down, festivals cancelled, tours abandoned, and wary audiences slink off to go online. The new normal for live performers should be that they are well and truly buggered. But I am delighted to say the very opposite is true. The new normal has revealed that the traditional models for the entertainment industry were a hoax. All those record labels, agents, managers, ticketers and merchandisers were a bunch of parasites. Half a century later, the new generation doesn't even need a kazoo and cardboard box to squat in for a live performance. They've got smartphones. And they don't need to rely on passers-by to busk at. They've got a global audience, thanks to utilities like Soundcloud, Tidal and Jeeni. Even on Facebook we have the facility for interminable live broadcasts of self-indulgent shite from the box-room. And I'm not just talking about singers and musicians. The same applies to actors, dancers, poets, voiceovers and kazoo virtuosos.

There are more independent artists than ever before who have been able to break into the mainstream without any support from a lousy label, a poncy publisher, a suffocating sponsor, mingy manager or arrogant agent. This is an entertainment revolution, where digital distribution, streaming platforms, social media and online marketing tools have changed the way artists perform their work and reach out to fans. By cutting out all the spongers, an independent artist can suddenly enjoy a number of important advantages. To me, the most important is that they now have 100% complete control over the direction of their music, spoken word and creative work. They also have full control over distribution, marketing, artwork, merchandising, deadlines, gigs, ticketing, prices, schedules - in fact all of those affirmative decisions about their creative vision. But it's not just about control. The new normal means that independent artists can keep 100% of all the profits generated from sales, streams, licencing deals, merchandise, and small change dropped through cardboard slots. The reason they can do this is because without the parasites they own all their own stuff. Independent artists own the master rights to their creative work, which means they also have the freedom to negotiate licensing, streaming and publishing deals, and they don’t have to worry about shyster contracts, expensive lawyers, and signing over their rights.

Of course the parasites are not going to give up without a fight. Book agents, publishers, distributors and publicists are still clinging on, years after it became obvious that nobody really needs them now that anyone can self-publish in the digital age. In the music and entertainment industry the leeches will still argue that they are vital, even though they already know they are dead. They will keep trying to treat artists like idiots and tell them they don't have the money for mastering, or production or touring or merchandise. Which is a lie, because if artists don't have to pay the leeches then they will save the money. Artists will also be told that they have a limited network of fans and contacts, whereas organisations and labels have access to big fat fanbases and red hot connections with professionals, promoters, booking agents and media. This is an even bigger lie, demonstrated by the fact that even a no-hoper musician like me has a Facebook network big enough to fill The Royal Albert Hall, including the bogs, with or without social distancing.

The biggest problem I can foresee in this brave new world of independent entertainment is lack of discipline. Put simply, if creatives were once prepared to rely on a bunch of parasites and leeches, they must now learn to rely on themselves, and that involves actually getting down to some hard work and doing stuff, irrespective of whether or not they have oodles of native talent. Desperation and hunger is an excellent motivator, so I invite the independent artists and performers of the new normal to get hold of their own electronic cardboard box and give it a go. And above all, don't forget to have fun while you're about it.

Mel Croucher is the founder of the UK videogames industry, and writer of the most widely-read, longest-running column in computer journalism. He is the founder director of Jeeni and owns a black T-shirt.

Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com

15
Dec

Artist Focus: Giack Bazz - A Royalty Revolutionary

In just five short years, Giack Bazz has crafted a spectrum of ideas and concepts with his discography that a lot artists don’t get around to in their lifetime. Although Giack has expanded his sound to stylistic corners that he even had to create himself, his sound has typically always been centred around alternative, experimental rock, inspired by the likes of David Bowie, Thom Yorke and Devendra Banhart.  Giack studied songwriting at BIMM London where he honed his already present skills as a singer-songwriter. Jeeni is always on the lookout for exciting, new talent that deserves a wider outreach and so, BIMM alumni, Ella Venvell, Jeeni’s artist liaison specialist remembered Giack as a unique and layered act and introduced him to Jeeni’s mission. As well as working with BIMM students, Jeeni has recently become partners with ACM to be at the source of new talent and help to uplift them in their careers. Hailing from Modena, Italy, the london-based Giack Bazz began his musical journey in 2016 with the sentimental and heart-aching ‘Childhood Dream'. The stunning debut was a means of processing the wave of emotions that came with the passing of his mother when he was just nine. Giack was also lucky enough to be picked up by his region’s arts council to fund a grand rock opera based off the impressive debut.  By kicking off his musical path with such a challenging and maturely profound project, Giack set up a powerful origin, with which he has used to launch into increasingly fascinating works, the likes of which I have never heard before.  As a fairly straightforward 9-track project, ‘Childhood Dreams’ is so far the only vanilla tracklist in Giack’s discography. Giack went on in 2018 to make a long-redundant 2-disc split with his second album, ‘Giack Bazz Is Not Famous’. This album had a more light-hearted, yet angsty indie rock tone which featured more full band arrangements compared to his first. The disc openers, ‘Beetle’ and ‘Forgotten Media’ are certainly two focal points of the project.  The year after came the Japan inspired ‘Haikufy’ which, despite containing 30 tracks, clocked in at under 20 minutes long. This project is the clearest first sign of Giacks experimental tendencies. Ranging from twinkling, dreamy moments to thrashing noise and yelling, the weird and wonderful ‘Haikufy’ still can’t help but feel cohesive as an experimental project due to clear vision and production. ‘Haikufy’ proved to be a vital stepping stone for Giack’s future as an artist and not just experimentally, as it was here where Giack first initiated his “personal protest against the unfair paying scheme of streaming platforms.”  Giack explained to me that “streams are only paid after the first 31 seconds clock in, the rest of the song is worthless for streaming platforms.” And so, by releasing an album that has densely packed in tracks that meet the bare minimum length to gain royalties from streaming services, Giack exploits a system just as they do. It was this concept that gave birth to Giack’s most recent project which is a kind of sibling to ‘Haikufy’ except, instead of 30 short songs, last year’s ‘Impression A.I.’ contained 366 written, mixed and mastered songs in a 6.5-hour timeframe!  Released under the name ‘The Royalty Instrumentality Project’ as a collaboration with partner and producer, Deborah Verrascina, ‘Impression A.I.’ is an inspiring and righteous protest against the unethical operations of streaming services, “By creating a vast album of short songs, we effectively use their system against them.”   With concepts like this; born of passion, research and justice, Giack makes for such a formidable force in the music industry. With Deobrah’s production to polish Giack’s ambitious projects and equally in-depth, albeit sinister marketing campaigns from manager, Marta Teolato, the team of three are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to music royalty justice. Fortunately, the trio are currently planning a similar protest project, fulled by extensive collaboration. Watch this space.  Giack is performing live at The Beehive, Empson Street on the 21st of January, tickets are available now: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-beehive-underground-sound-tickets-211275650157?aff=GiackBazz  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’s Jeeni showcase here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/giack-bazz 

22
Jun

Oasis Maybe at The Gaiety Southsea on South Parade Pier

COMPETITION TIME WIN FREE ACCESS FOR A GROUP OF 6  Oasis Maybe at The Gaiety Southsea on South Parade Pier Sunday 13th June 7pm - 11pm Oasis Maybe were formed in late 2013 in Birmingham by five close friends and fans of Oasis. Since forming they have become one of the most in demand Oasis tribute bands on the scene and boasting to be the only Oasis tribute band to have performed live with an original Oasis band member – Tony McCarroll. They attempt to capture the sound look and feel of the Band from the 1994-1997 era performing tracks from ‘Definitely Maybe’ and ‘What’s the Story Morning Glory’ with a few famous B-sides thrown in for good measure. GIVEAWAY! We have 3 x tables for 6 people to give away for free, for the Oasis Tribute band at South parade pier in the Gaiety on Sunday night from 7pm to 11pm again saving £60 per table. How to win: All you have to do is like and share this blog post and we will enter you into the draw to be announced Saturday Night 12 June 2021 at 8pm.  Full Details of event can be found at: https://book.events/maybeoasis/2021-06-13/29861 #oasistribute #britpop #oasismaybe #pop #rock #livemusicinportsmouth #tonymccarroll

05
Jun

How to grow your Facebook group.

Times are moving fast when it comes to social media, in particular the use of community groups to target your audiences with event, streaming and watch-parties going live every second of the day all around the globe. All of a sudden it feels like everyone except me is an expert at creating successful Facebook groups, so I decided I would take some time to try and unpick why are Facebook groups so successful. Had the groups been going for years and grown their members organically? Did they have large budgets and were they spending loads of money on Ads? Were they all marketing experts? Did they engage large teams of enthusiastic influencers?  To my surprise I found that in most instances these assumptions were just not the case. Rock The Lock Down, founded by Lucy Pardoe & Ollie Hughes, is a great example, with over 887,000 members in less than 6 weeks. I finally had to admit I was missing the critical ingredients for a successful campaign.  I only watched a selection of YouTube Videos, so not exhaustive, and I will watch some more tomorrow, but in the meantime to save you time, these were my key take-aways. 1. Make sure you take extra time to set up the group correctly, with an accurate, yet brief description. Check to make sure you have completed all sections, not just the about, which is the mistake I made. 2. Get as many people as possible to like your landing page, so that you can invite all of those people to your community group. Really simple and easy to use, but Facebook only allow you invite 50-100 in one day to stop you spamming. Which is what I also did!! 3. Make the group public, as you want as many members as possible to grow and contribute to organic growth.  4. Create as many discussions and engage with all your members as often as you can, be as helpful as possible, share and like and answer their questions. Be a guru, be supportive, open, honest and kind.   5. Use a bot to run competitions, contests, have freebies and giveaways , looping the bot back to join the group. 6. Join other relevant groups, share those groups and contribute as much knowledge and wisdom as you can helping members in those groups. It’s all about genuine and engaging conversation. Write guest posts and contribute wherever you can. Share and reuse your work on different sites, saving time and money. Keep the content helpful and meaningful. Cross-promote as often as you can and contact group's admin to share your group. 7. Test, test and trial Facebook ads that are targeted and specific, making sure you have set up demographics and location settings.  8. Create an exciting and interesting email campaign to support engagement from existing and new customer databases. 9. Interlink and entwine your groups posts and comments on You Tube and use back-links to improve your SEO. 10. Remember groups are for genuine enthusiasts who love music, or food, travel etc, and members do not want to see any information that is not relevant to what they love. At the end of the day this is all about them after all! In the meantime, please feel free to invite friends to our Independent Musicians and Performers Group and we will soon be at 2,000 members.