The Hardships of Getting a Job in the Music Industry

Jeeni Blog

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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22
Oct

Jeeni Weekly Round-up #2

Jeeni's weekly round-up of music and entertainment news. One in three music industry jobs were lost during pandemic In a report by UK Music, it was revealed that one in three music industry jobs have been lost as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The findings were published annual report, This Is Music 2021. According to the report, there has been a "devastating impact" on the music industry with 69,000 fewer jobs in 2020- a drop of 35%. Additionally, it was found that the music industry's contribution to the UK economy fell by 46%, from £5.8bn in 2019 to £3.1bn in 2020. Coronavirus enforced shutdowns of venues caused live music revenues in the UK to collapse by around 90 per cent in 2020, leaving many musicians, studio and venue staff without work. Music streaming market facing competition inquiry The UK’s competition watchdog is to launch an inquiry into the music streaming market and whether it is competitive and fair. Streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and Youtube will be looked at by The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli said: “The UK has a love affair with music and is home to many of the world’s most popular artists. We want to do everything we can to ensure that this sector is competitive, thriving and works in the interests of music lovers." COVID is 'creating a new genre' for live music Lockdowns have forced musicians to think of new ways to perform their music live. Many performing sets over live streaming to a worldwide audience. We've seen more cinematic experiences done by artists such as The Weeknd with his medley performance of Save Your Tears/In Your Eyes at last November's American Music Awards. Alex Lill, the creative force behind The Weeknd's recent videos and live performances, used a "single-shot tracking style and moved it outside onto the bare streets of Los Angeles, transforming the real-world Covid backdrop into his stage. Complete with fireworks, timed pyrotechnics and high-angle shots, it made the location and its atmosphere an active part of the performance." International touring DJ Hot Since 82 took to the sky using a hot air balloon as a new venue. Coldplay recieving backlash over "eco-friendly" world tour Coldplay has pledged to make their world tour eco-friendly, which will be powered with solar panels and kinetic dance floors. They have also modified effects such as lasers to be more energy-efficient, building their set from more sustainable materials such as bamboo and have pledged to plant a tree for every ticket sold. However, the band have received backlash that they will be continuing to fly by private jet. "And the people that give us backlash for that kind of thing, for flying, they're right. So we don't have any argument against that. Singer Chris Martin told the BBC " "We could stay at home and that may be better. But we want to tour and we want to meet people and connect with people - so try and do it in the cleanest way possible." Jeeni has always been eco-friendly and is something we are very conscious of as a company. Our audiences enjoy entertainment without the cost and pollution of travel, and all Team Jeeni works from home and meet up online. In Jeeni News Jeeni is Hiring! We are currently recruiting for the following roles: • Role 1: Marketing Assistant• Role 2: Marketing Executive (Digital Marketing)• Role 3: Marketing Executive (Public Relations)• Role 4: Jnr Developer• Role 5: Jnr Developer• Role 6: WordPress Specialist• Role 7: Senior Developer• Role 8: Senior Developer• Role 9: Sales Executive• Role 10: Sales Executive• Role 11: Partnership Co-ordinator These are Kickstarter Scheme positions (candidate must be aged between 16-24 and on, or have applied for, Universal Credit. If you'd like to apply for any of the above roles please send your resume to shena@jeeni.com

25
Jan

Giack Bazz: Live at Bromley-by-Bow's 'The Beehive'

Headlining last Friday (21st, Jan) for an ‘Underground Sound’ event in Bromley-by-Bow's ‘The Beehive’ was Italian-British indie hero, ‘Giack Bazz’. Sudden mid-song interjections of Giack’s random thoughts, everyone sitting on the pub-venue floor and stunning displays of vocal talent are just a few things fans should expect from future Giack Bazz gigs. Jeeni were invited to this special event after the first two Giack Bazz blogs were published to the Jeeni website. Jeeni feels honoured to have Giack a part of the team and we're thrilled to hear that he's been loving what Jeeni has been doing for him so far as well, "I'm overwhelmed by the continuing support from the Jeeni music blog". Giack opened his headlining spot the same way he opens his ‘Giack Bazz Is Not Famous’ album, with the drunk and jangly ‘Beetle’. The track was performed sleepily, roughly and loosely, in the best possible ways. Giack was not sleepy or low-energy at all, but the studio track is, and so he adopted a tired, melancholic delivery style despite his upbeat and jovial mood, because that's what the recipe called for. His performance of ‘Morning’ was prefaced with a darkly humourous exclamation, “This song is about depression!”. Perhaps it says a lot about the audience when this proud announcement was met with uproarious applause and cheering. A theme across all of Giack’s projects is mental health and emotional transparency and ‘Morning’ is a prime example of his mature and weirdly reassuring expression of said themes. The middle section of Giack’s set was spent with both, Giack and the audience sat down in an intimate and close commune, all connected by Giack’s compositions. This simple invitation of comfort and informality took Giack’s serenading to another level for the gentler and more sentimental tracks like the stunning rendition of the title-track of his debut album, ‘Childhood Dream’. Considering the arsenal of instruments Giack typically uses to convey his vision, the emotive power that he communicated with just his voice, a guitar and a pedal board was astonishing. Giack’s singing at times came across as a therapeutic ‘Primal Scream’, but it was always perfectly in pitch and in stylistic accordance with his guitar work. He also displayed the mic etiquette of a seasoned performer as he gave varying distance between his mouth and his mic depending on the power and input of his voice. I used to think that the vocal emotion and power in Giack’s studio projects were enhanced with production techniques and after-effects. However, the performative persona that Giack displayed in that tiny, humid box of a venue in East-London was an honest, primal and raw spectacle, unaided by double-tracking or artificial reverb; this made me realise that Giack has been enhancing the effects with his vocal power, not the other way around. We strongly suggest following Giack on socials to see when an opportunity to see this man live comes up again. Twitter: https://twitter.com/GiackBazz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giackbazz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Giack.Bazz Check out Giack’s showcase on Jeeni, now: https://jeeni.com/showcase/giack-bazz/ 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.

06
Jun

Lockdown lyrics and solo discos – finding fun and frivolity in the “new normal” by Sammie Venn.

By Sammie Venn Jeeni's Official Writer, Columnist and Blogger. Here at Jeeni.com we celebrate and support all musicians and performers, and poetry has its own dedicated channel for artists and performers to showcase their work and earn 100% of their sales, ticketing, merchandise and donations. Yesterday, Jeeni returned to Crowdcube to raise more funds for helping new talent and has raised £92K in 24 hours, our target is £100K and we have 29 days to go, so we are likely to overfund, which is just amazing. Thanks again to all our wonderful investors. If you want to see our pitch click HERE. Today we showcase Sammie Venn as a very talented and creative writer. The Dali Lama said that “there is soul music, soul food and soul love”. There is no expiration date for any of these, even an age old recipe is everlasting. It’s just about finding what sings to us as individuals. Whether it’s a solo disco or a full on rave, music resonates with us all in a plethora of ways. Long walks during lockdown have meant that my innumerable playlists have been given a good airing. My taste has always been eclectic and moods diverse. The tunes that emanate from the speakers in the kitchen or on my headphones are varied to say the least. Ranging from damn good hip jiggers to soulful chakra mediations, there are no boundaries when it comes to the world of music. Both of which are key to a happy harmonious life as well as ultimately mood enhancing. Music is to the soul what words are to the mind, each turn a cacophony of phrases into poetic verse. We can fall in love with music: it touches every part of our being in some way, triggering memories and taking us on a valuable journey. Melodies remind us that life is beautiful and should be embraced. As an early riser, the dawn chorus tends to be my preferred genre. However throughout the day I have made a point of experimenting with different sounds and beats. Finding fun and frivolity in this new world we have found ourselves in is key to our mental health and fitness. Apart from walking the South Downs, solo dance offs have been my go to entertainment. Amongst all the chaos I found a beauty in the calm of movement and all of my favourite songs. It also has the benefit of being an extraordinary workout, one morning my Health App showed that I had danced over 11,000 steps. Suffice to say I was happy with the fitness element of my grooves. The best part was loosing myself in music that made me dance both internally and externally. I’m not a selfie junkie by any stretch but I took a couple of photos to remind myself of how content I looked. My dance partner may have only been the mirror, but we certainly had fun. In my top ten tunes sits “Sunshine on a rainy day” by Zoe. It puts more than a spring in my step and sits comfortably with Imagine Dragons and the Rolling Stones under the banner of “The COVID-19 Collection”. Creating compilations for all seasons is a great way to assemble your music. Jeeni’s platform has been wonderful as it has helped me to experience a fresh realm of creativity. Not only have I discovered new artists but I have also embarked on a learning journey that supports genres that I had never heard of. Historically I am a rock chick through and through but I have welcomed ‘Bluegrass’, ‘Chant’, ‘Faith’ and ‘Funk’ as new soundscapes on my playlist. And that is all thanks to Jeeni. Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com

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