The Hardships of Getting a Job in the Music Industry

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Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

The Hardships of Getting a Job in the Music Industry

When an area of employment is as culturally, historically and economically important as the music industry, it’s hardly going to be a walk in the park to insert oneself into it. Despite the giant range of positions and opportunities, a mountain of deciding factors and conditions stand in the way of graduates and the enticing notion of working in music. Many corners of employment have their difficulties, whether it’s overwhelming competition from like-minded hopefuls or a seemingly unfair demand for experience but the music industry seems to set up these hurdles at steeper heights than most.

This is why companies like Jeeni can be an answered prayer for optimistic music graduates that are seeking experience in this confusing and challenging industry. Jeeni is always looking for fresh young talent to help its gears run smoothly and efficiently so that more support can be provided and offered to unrepresented artists, meaning that Jeeni holds out a helping hand to upcoming talents in the industry in more ways than one.

Music is still a growing industry with a 7% increase in employment from 2017 to 2018 (UK Music, Music By Numbers 2019 report) which sounds like a great thing and it is, however this is also a rise in competition due to an unprecedented increase in revenue from the music industry, according to Goldman Sachs, “In May 2020, Goldman Sachs estimated the entire music industry's revenue (live, recorded, and publishing) to increase from $62 billion in 2017 to $131 billion in 2030, representing a 6% CAGR. The 2030 estimate was an increase on its original prediction of $104 billion, made in October 2016.” (Toptal.com, ‘The State of The Music Industry in 2020’) Business is booming for the music world which means everyone is looking for the best and they aren’t willing to take a chance on anyone without near-impossible standards of experience. However, music graduates can begin their climb to greatness with companies like Jeeni

A testimonial from Jeeni’s Marketing Leader, music production graduate, Ella Venvell offers an insight in the uphill battle that finding a future in the music industry can prove to be, “I always knew finding a job within the music industry would be challenging but I didn’t know just how hard it was! Even though I have a musical background and have a degree in music production, that alone was not enough. As the music industry is quite niche, most companies ask for years of experience to prove your abilities and knowledge, however, nowhere is willing to give you the experience!”

Jeeni Marketing intern, Annesa Sukul decided to begin building up her music industry experience with Jeeni and has been a total asset to the entire company in research, maintaining artist relationships and so much more. She was taken on at Jeeni amidst her studies and given a chance to contribute her skills and hard work to the team, ‘As a music business student, it is quite difficult to get into the music industry if you don’t know where to look. Often times when someone doesn’t have experience, the first thing would be to look for a work placement or an internship. However, most of these tend to also ask for previous experience and would leave one feeling lost as to where to gain this experience.”

As an intern at Jeeni, Annesa still has a say in the type of tasks she carries out and is given roles that challenges her and puts her specified skills to the test. As well as simply giving interns experience on paper, we try to truly set them up for success in their future roles by giving them chances to propose new ideas and contribute to the company in a hands-on and proactive way, which is all useful inclusions to CVs and portfolios. Annesa also has access to a supportive team to help her with her time at Jeeni in any way she needs.

As Jeeni still finds itself in an early stage of its journey, we’re in a position where we can provide much-needed experience for people like Ella and Annesa to prepare them for their future careers in music and put them to good use in furthering the reach and effectiveness of Jeeni’s mission.

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05
Jun

What can the music industry do to reduce its carbon footprint?

The carbon impact of all those gigs and gatherings is up for debate more now than ever, big acts such as ColdPlay and Massive Attack have cancelled gigs until they can measure the impact on the environment. But not all artists are in a financial position to cancel all their gigs and many artists rely on touring for an income. Let's be real most musicians and performers can not afford an environmental consciousness. Today on Radio 4 Tom Heap asks what the music industry can do to reduce its carbon footprint. Tom spoke to various different artists and also interviewed the founders of Music Declares Emergency - No Music On A Dead Planet https://www.musicdeclares.net/. The main three areas for discussion included the emissions for the band travelling, moving the equipment, the venue emissions and the impact of audiences travelling to and from the event. Having listened to the show I checked out Music Declares Emergency - No Music On A Dead Planet https://www.musicdeclares.net/ which advocates the following: We call on governments and media institutions to tell the truth about the climate and ecological emergency.We call on governments to act now to reverse biodiversity loss and reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2030.We recognise that the emergency has arisen from global injustices and will work towards systemic change to protect life on Earth.We acknowledge the environmental impact of music industry practices and commit to taking urgent action. We have signed up and will follow Music Declares and are very interested in how our members can benefit, however the interview raised many contradictions and many of the suggestions for us were very weak and hypocritical. But it is very tough debate. We get that. To summaries the main suggestions in the interview with Tom included the following: Standard riders to not include plastic Not to allow single use plastics at events Always use renewable power sources when you can Event organizers to insist on recycling as a priority Working with responsible corporate partners Not to work with financial institutions that are not responsible Using LED lights to reduce energy use Put restrictions on touring, travelling and taking less equipment Use streaming media as an alternative to reach audiences Do not fly around the world to shoot gigs on environmental change Going on a bus rather than taking your own car Car share Put pressure on venues to be more environmentally friendly Getting rid of plastic CD cases Ecological packaging Environmental merchandise and use organic materials Higher train usage, go car free Ecological and renewable streaming and data storage Rent all the equipment at location and not travel with all the kit you need Do not produce and sell vinyls The largest omissions on carbon footprint is the audience travelling so a main argument from the artist is that they need to travel to the audience. Surely, the suggestions made in the interview is not enough and it will not deliver the outcomes to climate change that is needed, it is sycophantic and feeble for global change. In our view the recommendations and solutions suggested are not sustainable themselves. However, Music Declares Emergency have a great section on their website which is much more comprehensive and lists about actions for artists, songwriters, producers, a label, publisher, a venue, festival live music promoter, manager, agent and fan. So we are going to support them.

05
Jun

How to Monetise Live Streaming

The Independent Musicians and Performers Community wants to spotlight the fact that as gigs, concerts, tours and festivals are cancelled, musicians and performers will be unable to play in front of significant live audiences for the foreseeable future. Some of our members have asked for advice on what software or streaming platforms to use and how can this community help them monetise live streaming. The monetisation of live streaming is possible in a few different ways. The most straightforward one is via donations, which is pretty quick and simple to set up via PayPal. Having spent a couple of days looking for sound advice and guidance I found this blog which was sent in by one of our members. Fellipe Baldauf, so thanks very much Fellipe. The blog has been specifically designed to serve freelance artists, and those interested in supporting the independent artist community. This includes, but is not limited to, actors, designers, producers, technicians, stage managers, musicians, composers, choreographers, visual artists, filmmakers, craft artists, teaching artists, dancers, writers & playwrights, photographers, etc. Check out the blog, it is very comprehensive and we found it very useful. https://covid19freelanceartistresource.wordpress.com/ I hope you agree the blog is brilliant and not to be missed as essential reading, the writers are non political, non self promoting whilst provide extremely free advice useful lists and links to information on very topical subjects such as: Emergency Funding, International Resources, Best Practices for Online Teaching, Online Platforms, Health and Mental Health Resources, Temporary and Remote Job Opportunities and Events. Example of bands streaming live concerts because of coronavirus include Orange and Gnash. Code Orange drummer and vocalist Jami Morgan told Newsweek that they decided to perform the concert after making every effort to have it happen as planned. He said after all the work put in, the hardcore idols had to do the show at least once. "We need to make two versions of this plan. One: that we could maybe still do this, with the show, because we don't know what's going to happen going forward," Morgan told Newsweek. "Another: we do it empty-arena match style and be the first ones to do it, and try to give everyone the show we've been working so hard on, and turn this negative to at least a little bit of a positive or something enjoyable for people who like heavy music." https://www.newsweek.com/code-orange-gnash-against-me-diplo-stream-shows-coronavirus-1492333 We have just registered to a live broadcast with Vimeo entitled: "How to Plan a virtual event: Vimeo's live production experts tell all". Greg Palmer, Senior Producer at Vimeo states that: "As businesses and organizations shift their in-person event strategies to virtual experiences, Vimeo’s live production team is here to help navigate these changes successfully under tight deadlines. We can provide expert advice on how schools, event coordinators, marketers, and more are evolving their event strategies to optimize engaging live streaming experiences". The broadcast includes: Why live streamed events make sense as a supplement for in person eventsHow Vimeo's virtual package is helping organisations quickly pivot to online experiences Why and when businesses should partner with a third partner production serviceCustomer stories of working with Vimeo's live production team for their virtual event. https://vimeo.com/pt-br/enterprise/live-production-broadcast That's it for now folks, Mel and I hope that you found this useful and share with like-minded people that might benefit. Written by Shena Mitchell and Mel Croucher founding directors of Jeeni.com

10
Apr

Daisy Chute on Music, Performing and Life during 2020

Tonight, is the night that we launch the JAM Festival where 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. So please register that you are Going or Interested, and we will keep you posted each day of acts and keep you informed about their performances. Please like, share and invite your friends to join in the fun, it's going to be awesome. https://fb.me/e/1etPauFMV Don't worry if your busy or miss it, we will be featuring the festival on Jeeni.com from the 11th of April 2021, for you to watch when you are next free. Ahead of the JAM Festival we had a quick catch up with Daisy Chute who is a favourite of mine as Daisy kept me company with her live streams all the way through lock down, most charming, and talented artist who is so lovely she just makes your heart melt. Daisy tells us: “I am really enjoying the sunny weather and I am very much looking forward to summer and performing at gigs again in person”! In the last 12 months Daisy fairly quickly started doing live streams as a replacement for gigs and festivals that she was supposed to be at such as Glastonbury and the Cambridge festival. Daisy was doing online shows which she said was ‘better than nothing’ due to the pandemic. Daisy said: “through the online shows and livestreams etc she was able to connect with many people internationally which she said was ‘really lovely and enabled her to build more of a following and connect with fans on an international scale’ which she wouldn't have been able to-do on a tour.” Daisy said: “during this pandemic, she tried to use the time as best as she could to connect with her fans through the livestreams”! Kate asked Daisy: “Have you missed live performances”? “Absolutely’ the live streams are kind of like live performances, but they don’t feel the same because you don’t have the same connection and it’s much more casual! I miss performing with my band as I have not been able to see them during this time so my livestreams have also been missing that element of energy and adrenaline when performing a set. I am a very social person and I really miss the atmosphere of being at a gig and having drinks with friends and getting back to being in gig – performing and watching.” Kate asked Daisy: “are you excited to showcase your track”? ‘ABSOLOUTELY yes!’ “I love what Jeeni are doing, and I love how supportive the team are to all the artists and I am very grateful for these opportunities to work with some amazing people. I think the showcases and the festivals are so important and they keep the artists going and keep them motivated and connected”! Daisy also overfunded on her Rocket fuel campaign which was amazing and if you want to find out more check out her page here: https://rocketfuelhq.com/daisy-chute Daisy was raising the funds to help make some new music for Daisy’s Singles Club. Daisy reaching her target a week early, which is amazing. But you can still get involved as Daisy has decided to do a “Stretch Goal” to see if she can get some further support to make a series of new videos and Daisy will have new things on offer until 31 March 2021. You can still get involved by buying something, subscribing monthly or making a one-off contribution. Here is a video telling you all about it. https://youtu.be/0j-defCFQvA Best of luck Daisy we know you will be a great success and you have 100% support from Team Jeeni.

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