Portsmouth-based music platform gears up

Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Portsmouth-based music platform gears up

Jeeni, the Portsmouth-based music tech start-up, has raised over £230,000 to support unsigned artists and performers achieve their dream.

Today, Jeeni has returned to Crowdcube to raise more funds and help the cause. Founding director Mel Croucher says, “We are ahead of our original schedule, yet there is still so much more to accomplish. We need to scale our online platform globally, build our mass artist showcases, and achieve our foreign language roll-out. Then we can hit all our targets, and give our new artists the recognition they deserve.” If you want to see our pitch click HERE.

Jeeni is launching their next generation platform online, with over 27,500 artists and performers subscribe to their database, and will start trading ahead of schedule.

Along with Mel Croucher, who founded the UK leisure software industry, Jeeni was co-founded by Shena Mitchell, who has already raised over £20million for start-up businesses in the Solent area. They have created a formidable management team including Roger Watson, the record-label boss responsible for over 500 million record sales, Kelli Richards, who worked with Steve Jobs for over 10 years and launched Apple Music, Eddie Levy, the founder of ATV Music who owned The Beatles catalogue, and Danielle Woodyatt, former Head of Global Communications at Virgin.

Jeeni is also supported by celebrity ambassadors, including John Altman, conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Tony Klinger, producer for The Who, and Dee “Thunderbirds” Anderson.

Jeeni’s Shena Mitchell urges Portsmouth-based businesses and investors to take a look at the campaign and support the development and global roll-out of Jeeni. She says: “We are raising £100k for 2.4% with our pre-money valuation at £4M. So if you want to support a Portsmouth-based tech start-up to harness the wealth of genuine unsigned talent, then get in touch.” If you want to see our pitch click HERE.

Contact details: shena@jeeni.com

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11
Mar

A Legend, A Bus, A Fan and A New Chapter

A Legend, A Bus, A Fan and A New Chapter. In 2018, our chosen charity ‘Arms Around the Child’ reached out for Jeeni’s help. In their efforts to help their cause, the charity had acquired a vehicle with history, was completely unique and of significance to its previous owner and his fans. However, at this stage it needed serious help. That help sadly, became a burden to the charity and its finances, so the vehicle had to be sold. Here the story unfolds............... A Legend Back in 1970, Sir Paul McCartney had a life-changing moment. We’ve all had them. Life takes a turn and you find yourself going in a slightly, or very different direction. For legend Sir Paul, it was one door closing and another opening. A year later, he formed a band called Wings, with Denny Seiwell and Denny Laine, plus his wife, Linda. After an initial album release and some university gigging, McCartney was enjoying his simpler life away from the fast lane. He decided to take the band on the road for the summer, touring Europe. Sir Paul McCartney - A Legend Wings on their Tour Bus A Bus In 1972 the ‘Wings Over Europe’ tour took place – 25 dates over two months and 7,500 miles. All fairly standard stuff for any band, apart from the mode of transport. McCartney decided the band would be travelling in style, in the form of a vintage 1953 Bristol Double Decker ‘Open Topped’ bus, registration WNO 481. Carnaby Street boutique owner, Tom Slater was charged with fitting out the bus, giving it a bright paint job and livery announcing the tour and band had arrived. The band ate, slept and practiced on the bus, lying in the sun on the top deck writing their next album ‘Red Rose Speedway’ and even the track ‘Live and Let Die’ for the first James Bond movie for Roger Moore. WNO 481 - Wings Tour Bus A Fan(s) After the successful tour, a handful of other worldly adventures and a 2017 tweet from Sir Paul asking if anyone knew where the bus might be, WNO 481 (as it’s affectionately known) ended up being rescued and returned to the UK by ‘Arms Around the Child’ trustee Justin James. It was his difficult decision in 2018, to have to sell the bus and relieve the charity of the financial burden it had become. However, for Super-Fan Tom Jennings and his wife Rose, it was a dream come true and a life ambition fulfilled. Tom has since set about completing the restoration of the bus, bringing in fans from all over the world and setting up a fabulous site www.1972wingstourbus.com giving regular updates on progress of WNO 481, as well as the bus’s colourful history. It’s a fabulous read! A New Chapter On the back of this new connection, Jeeni are very pleased to have created a working partnership with Tom and Rose, and their merry band of ‘Busketeers’. We hope to work with them, their amazing bus, Sir Paul and our hefty music connections to create new and positive adventures for WNO 481. Jeeni have been granted access to the bus for a certain number of weeks per year and our intention is to use these weeks to create events and gigs for our Jeeni artists to perform. For Jeeni SuperFans there will be the chance to secure early tickets and memorabilia for the events and the bands performing. As with the emergence of Wings, the band and their music, we would like the bus to play a part in the launch of new music talent, giving performers the chance to thank supportive fans, share the experience and excitement of live performing, as well as creating new fanbases. Jeeni as a platform, has a large, growing audience of music lovers, as well as performers. The instant opportunities offered with their engaged social media, allows for followers to be ‘teased’ with where upcoming venues may be, before official announcements and tickets are released, creating a buzz and anticipating excitement. This cool, utterly unique piece of British rock and roll and engineering history has much to look forward to, as do the generations of music fans past and present, who will have the opportunity to be entertained by the Jeeni and ‘Wings Over Europe’ bus and events. www.jeeni.com www.1972wingstourbus.com www.armsaroundthechild.org

05
Jun

Live Life Fully and Mindfully — Things Change Quickly

by Kelli Richards Jeeni MD USA Most of us coast along in life day-to-day, and we don’t always think and act mindfully in the moment. There are many reasons why it’s important to practice doing so most of the time, but perhaps the biggest one is that things change quickly in life — and often unexpectedly. When you’re mindful, you have fewer regrets when they do. Here are a couple of examples that have happened to me recently. Many of you are aware that I’ve been in the music/tech space as a veteran for most of my career, since the dawn of the digital music revolution. I’m proud not only of having been a pioneer steeped in co-creating many of the key milestones that have impacted the evolution along the way, BUT also in having shared those experiences with a cadre of cherished colleagues alongside — many of them for over 25 years now. One off those fellow visionaries was Jay Frank. Jay was instrumental in envisioning the future of streaming driven by user-influenced playlists years before that took off. Feel free to review more about Jay in this obituary on Billboard. He was only 47 when he passed of cancer; he hadn’t told many of us about it — and his loss was a real shock. He certainly accomplished a lot in his years on the planet and left a lasting and palpable legacy. I hadn’t been in as active touch with him during the past couple of years, which I regret, but he knew how much I respected him. I’m proud to be on the advisory council of Harvest Summit, an annual ‘field trip’ gathering of successful high achievers from different industries who come together in wine country to embrace innovation. Each year we feature a powerful keynote speaker to wrap up the event, and at this year’s event just a few weeks ago in mid-October we were fortunate enough to have Bernard Tyson join us. Bernard was the beloved CEO of Kaiser Permanente, the huge healthcare system, and he was responsible for creating some of Kaiser’s most progressive and innovative efforts during his nearly three decades with the company. He was someone who made a real impact & a lasting legacy. At Harvest Summit he was inspiring and infectious. And when I approached him afterwards, we had a brief chat and he was very warm and gracious. Just a few weeks later, Bernard passed suddenly at 60. His wife is a colleague of mine, and I’d heard about how wonderful he was for quite some time. I was so pleased I had the opportunity to connect with him and got to experience his presence firsthand. Finally, I’m enamored of wine country and Sonoma County at large; so much so that I intend to re-locate there in the coming years. I’ve built a large community of people I care about greatly in that region. Two years ago, over 5000 homes were lost to the devastating Tubbs Fire there. The week after I was at Harvest Summit in mid-October — right in that same location — the unthinkable happened in that the Kincade Fire took off like crazy with flames fanned by strong Santa Ana-like winds in that same general region causing widespread evacuation, power outages and unrest in that same region for over a week. Some homes were lost again, but owing to the brave firefighters who were determined to save lives and properties (and with some support from winds dying down), the fire was brought under control at last. This has all reinforced for me just how important it is to be prepared for natural disasters — I’ll be putting together an emergency “go bag/kit” shortly as a result. I guess in summary, the common thread here is that’s important to be present and mindful in all our interactions with others, and not take anyone or anything for granted. Because life is truly fragile, and what we’re privileged to enjoy today could be taken away without warning tomorrow. Be here now. Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com

12
Nov

Weekly Round-Up #4

The latest news on all things Jeeni, music and entertainment news. The ongoing impact of Covid-19 on musicians Like many other sectors, the music industry has been hit hard by coronavirus with live performance revenue the biggest casualty. During the lockdown, the cancellation and postponement of most live music has had a catastrophic impact on the entire industry. In addition to a reduction in physical sales from the closure of retail stores. There has even been a negative impact on synch opportunities due to less production of visual content. And while streaming revenue has increased, it is not a sustainable source of income due to unfair revenue shares. According to National statistics even before the pandemic, a musician earned on average £23,059, well below the national average of £29,832, according to the Office for National Statistics. A report by UK Music predicted that musicians will have lost 65% of their income this year, rising to 80% for those most dependent on live performance and studio work. Frances O’Grady TUC General Secretary sent a strong message of solidarity and support to Musician Union members at the 39th Musicians’ Union Delegate Conference. Highlighting the effects of Covid-19 on musicians. “The pandemic has been a huge challenge to working people and musicians have been on its economic frontline, unable to work due to lockdown restrictions” she said.“Too often this government left the self-employed high and dry. Now ministers must step up to give arts, culture, entertainment, and festivals the support we urgently need”. Jeeni is ahead of the government in supporting musicians, the platform hosts a range of creative talent supporting them to grow an audience. On Jeeni, artists and creatives keep 100% of everything they earn, and thousands of performers are already on board, with an audience outreach that has grown to over two million. Check out what we do at Jeeni and how we support independent creative talent YouTubes ads business is now bigger than the entire global record business According to revenue figures released last week from YouTube Parent company Alphabet, YouTube generated $7.205 billion in revenues from advertising in Q3 this year. Up 43%, or by over $2 billion, year-on-year versus the same quarter of 2020. The $7.205 billion figure did not include additional revenues from subscriptions which YouTube just announced it has surpassed 50 million global subscribers to YouTube Music and YouTube Premium. Meaning that the video streaming giant now has a bigger ads business than the entire global record business. New artists face ‘massive competition’ from established acts due to streaming New artists face massive competition from major established acts such as Queen and the Beatles due to the advent of streaming according to The Culture Committee. Peter Leathem, chief executive from the music copyright collective Phonographic Performance Ltd, told MPs that even the most talented performers were “struggling” to make a living from their music in part due to the competition they face for plays and revenue. “They are faced with massive competition. If you look at 2019, the best-selling albums were Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, based on the film, and Abbey Road by the Beatles, on its 50-year anniversary. If you are trying to break a new artist or trying to get your own streaming going you have got the last 50 years of the music industry to compete with.” With lots of streaming taking place, the value of the market is much less and there is so much competition. Up-and-coming artists are also competing for a share of a “smaller pie”. He added, “If you are trying to break a new artist or trying to get your own streaming going you have got the last 50 years of the music industry to compete with." MPs are continuing to examine what economic impact music streaming is having on artists, record labels and the sustainability of the wider industry. It's clear that the music industry needs more support in terms of the value gap and allowing the spotlight to be on new artists. This is exactly what Jeeni are doing, by supporting independent artists. Jeeni is a platform that brings together creative talents and allows them to showcase their work to a wider audience. All while keeping 100% of everything they earn, and thousands of artists are already on board, with an audience outreach that has grown to over two million. Be sure to visit Jeeni and discover how we help independent artists rise above the limitations of major streaming services at Jeeni.com Jeeni News Artist Pairing Initiative We had our very first artist pairing meeting hosted by Jeeni’s Ella Venvell. The artist pairing is a new initiative by Jeeni where we pair up artists of a similar genre, one with more experience and the other a fledgling artist. The more experienced artist is able able to give advice and words of wisdom. While both artists can encourage and inspire each other by sharing their individual experiences. Our first meeting with Daisy Chute and Ariana May was a huge success. Daisy shared her experiences of being signed to a major label before becoming an independent self-sufficient artist, expressing the benefits and downfalls to both. Furthermore advising Ariana on the best ways to promote her music through a variety of avenues and the different revenue streams available. If you are an artist interested in Jeeni's pairing initiative then be sure to contact our Artist Liaison Ella Venvell at ella@jeeni.com, including info about yourself and why would like to be part of the artist pairing initiative. Pick Of The Week Our pick of the week is Glasgow based alt-rock band Respite. The band blends elements of punk, post-hardcore and pop music, with lyrics and vocals heavily inspired by pop-punk and emo. Respite released their first single, “Chemical Sleep” on the 3rd of October. Soon after following with their debut EP “Vol. 1” on the 29th of October which features five original tracks, and is available to stream everywhere right now! Check out Respite's showcase on Jeeni - Respite | Showcase | JEENI New Music Friday In our New Music Friday segment, Daisy Chute has been selected with the release of her EP Songs of Solace on Friday 12th November. A collection of six original songs which tells a story ‘through the beginning, middle and end of a relationship. Songs of Solace is available on all streaming platforms. Check out Daisy Chutes showcase on Jeeni - Daisy Chute | Showcase | JEENI Jeeni and Chillblast Partnership Jeeni has partnered with Chillblast to bring customers exclusive branded PCs designed for musicians and creatives. Chillblast is the UK’s Most Awarded PC Manufacturer. Find out more about Chillblast here, and discover why Jeeni has partnered with Chillblast to bring Special Edition music PCs with exclusive Jeeni branding. As well as a year's subscription to the Jeeni Platform with each order worth £85. Chillblast Jeeni PCs are perfect for all musicians and creatives, whether you're an independent bedroom pop artist or a music producer working on the next number 1 one single. Get the best deal on music PCs with our black Friday 2021 offer. Buy your Jeeni Music PC built and warrantied by the UK’s most awarded PC manufacturer here Jeeni PCs (chillblast.com)

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