Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Voices of 2021

/ By Andie Jeenius
Voices of 2021

BBC Sounds has just released it's longlist of nominees for the 'BBC Sound of 2021', a prophecy of who they believe will be filling your playlists for the upcoming year, from the best rising talent.

Now in it's 19th year, this year's longlist was compiled by a panel of 161 industry experts, including former nominees Billie Eilish (2018) and Stormzy (2015). The winner will be announced in January on BBC News and BBC Radio 1.

The 10 acts hoping to win the top spot are:

  • Alfie Templeman - Indie Pop
  • Berwyn - Soul Poet / Ballads
  • Bree Runway - Trap / R&B
  • Dutchavelli - Rap / Hip-Hop
  • Girl In Red - Indie Pop
  • Greentea Peng - Psychedelic Soul
  • Griff - Bedroom Pop
  • Holly Humberstone - Pop Ballads
  • Pa Salieu - Rap Maverick
  • The Lathums - Indie Band

To be eligible, musicians must not have been the lead artist on a UK top 10 album, or more than one top 10 single, by 30 October 2020. Artists who have appeared on TV talent shows within the last three years are also ineligible.

The top five will be revealed in the New Year on BBC Radio 1 and BBC News, with one artist announced each day from Sunday 3 January until the winner is unveiled on Thursday 7 January.

Covid-19 has made launching a music career trickier than ever - and to date, only four of the nominated acts have played a headline gig, which explains the strong showing of bedroom and DIY artists on the list. 2020's winner, Celeste, also suffered setbacks from the pandemic hangover, as her new album release was delayed. Instead she chose to release well received tracks, 'Stop this Flame' and 'Little Runaway' to give us a taster of what is to come. She also became the first singer to ever record an original track 'A Little Love' for the John Lewis Christmas campaign. Her debut album, 'Not Your Muse' is now being released Feb 26th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwuJFAsZD0k

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How to Monetise Live Streaming

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

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6 of the best music related sites and blogs

05
Jun

6 of the best music related sites and blogs

We have been scanning the internet and asking members what they think are the very best music-related sites and blogs. Basically, what's hot and what's not! Our choices may well differ from yours, so let's have the debate. Many things have changed in recent years and will change at an even greater pace now. With online streaming services we can enjoy our music for free or a low cost. So let's get started with the ones we love. We love Vampr. Vampr is an app that helps you discover, connect and collaborate with fellow musicians, the music industry and music lovers alike. Vampr stats show 33,798,736 swipes and 5,017,135 connections made in 198 countries worldwide. Pretty impressive stuff, so check them out here. https://vampr.me/ We also love Pitchfork. Pitchfork has some awesome features such as best new music, and we really like the music reviews. The writers seem to be in the know and very much "thought leaders" in the music industry. They are continually updating the website with the latest information related to the music industry. Unfortunately one of Pitchfork's main features is that they have their own music festival, this year to be held in Berlin which would have hosted over 40 bands across three different stages, but now cancelled. Check out Pitchfork here: https://pitchfork.com/ We also love Hypebot. Hypebot is one of the most well-known online music sites in the industry, and there is good reason for that! This site is updated very regularly so you know you are getting all the latest information possible. They also cover other areas such as “Music Tech”, “DIY” and “Charts”. You can also sign up to the Hypebot newsletter to get the daily lowdown on everything happening straight to your inbox! Hypebot covers a wide variety of topics in the music industry, so no matter what you are looking for, you’ll probably be able to find it here. They also have a charts section where you can filter by “emerging artists” or “established artists” as well as the country and city. And of course you can play artist tracks. Check out Hypebot here: https://www.hypebot.com/ Our next site is Your EDM, dedicated to Electronic Dance Music. Everything you need to stay up to date with the latest in this music genre can be found here. This includes all the latest news as well as featured articles and sub-sections/ genres of EDM, like house and bass. On this site you even have the ability to download free songs, from a variety of different artists trying to make a name for themselves in the industry. All the different sub-genres are listed on the site as well, so even if your taste is really narrow in EDM, you can still find some great information. New info is updated almost daily. Make sure you follow them on social media as well, so it is even easier to get updated on the latest information. Check out Your EDM here: https://www.youredm.com/ Next on our it's-gotta-be-hot list is All Music. All Music doesn’t really have as much news on the music industry as the others listed here, but their focus is mainly on providing information in new music and helping visitors discover their next obsession. They also provide recommendations if you create an account, and once you have rated albums, you will get recommendations on what to listen to next. They cover music from all common genres including pop, rap, electronic, classical, blues, country and more. They provide an in-depth review of all the latest albums and give options on how to stream the tunes, if you want to. There are three different ratings available to view, “All Music Rating”, “User Ratings” and “Your Rating” so you can have a more detailed view on what people think about a particular album. Check out All Music here: https://www.allmusic.com/ Last but not least we love Jeeni. Jeeni is a new platform that we are developing for Independent Musicians and Performers and is in beta testing phase. JEENI is a multi-channel streaming service for original and unsigned talent. Jeeni provides a showcase for musicians and performers to put their talent in the spotlight, giving superfans the power to make them stars. The Jeeni promise is to treat their creative talent ethically, fairly, honestly and with respect. Most importantly Jeeni is committed to – No hype. No adverts. No rip-offs. No Fakes, and making sure that the artists get 100% of their direct sales. Jeeni is presently looking for beta-testers to help us improve the site. A beta-tester simply registers for a FREE account, then designs their own showcase by uploading their music and videos and give us feedback on their user experience. Please contact Shena@jeeni.com or call 07703567196 if you are interested and want to find out more. Check out Jeeni today: https://jeeni.com/ That's all Folks!

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Waiting for the Harvest in Business

06
Jun

Waiting for the Harvest in Business

By Kelli Richards, Managing Director, Jeeni USA As an entrepreneur and/or a self-employed professional, have you ever been in a situation where a game-changing opportunity presented itself to you in business? Something that could “overnight” propel you to a different level of success and financial freedom? Only to find that the brass ring was further away than you thought? And while the opportunity seemed to be realistic and close at hand, it remained elusive for a long period of time; sometimes years at times? I’ve been in such a situation with not one but several ‘big deal’ business opportunities over the past few years. I won’t lie; it has been a trying experience, ranging from being annoying, frustrating and even gut-wrenching — waiting for the dominos to fall and for the scales of justice to be balanced in my favor. Holding my breath and waiting to exhale. Friends and colleagues have expressed concern and wonder if I’ve lost my mind holding out hope that one or several of these deals will come to fruition. But I know in my heart of hearts that these opportunities are real — and I need to ride the wave and exercise every ounce of patience and trust that I have. Lately, I’ve felt the life force of these opportunities building in strength, and I see light at the end of very long and dark tunnel — it genuinely appears as though the time is growing nearer for them to manifest at last. I look forward to that happening with great zeal and anticipation, knowing my patience will be rewarded and that I’ll experience great relief on the other side. As I was taking my morning hike the other day in the forest surrounded by trees, I experienced an Ah-Ha! insight that took me aback… I grew up surrounded by fruit orchards. When you plant a fruit tree, you don’t expect it to bear fruit for a few years — but once it starts doing so, it typically delivers wonderful fruit for many years to follow; it’s an investment in patience and trust. Duh!  It occurred to me that each of these ‘big deals’ I’ve been waiting on has been like one of these trees — each one has had to come to maturity at its own time, when it was ready, and not a moment before. As they do, my colleagues and I stand to benefit from their rewards for many years to come. If you’ve been in a similar situation, take heart and keep the faith; I hope this dose of perspective serves you and will give you strength to stay the course. Though many of us are rabbits in practice (and sometimes deals do come together at a faster clip), the tortoise knows that “slow and steady” wins the race. A good reminder for us all! Kelli Richards Consultant – Super-Connector Trusted Advisor – Celebrity Wrangler Creating Powerful Connections Across Music, Entertainment and Technology With a unique talent for connecting thought leaders and disrupters from technology with innovators from entertainment, CEO Kelli Richards guides her clients to create big visions, make big connections and achieve big results. Prior to establishing The All Access Group, Kelli made waves in senior-level positions at Fortune 100 entertainment and technology companies including EMI Music, Silicon Graphics (SGI)– and Apple Inc., where she launched Apple’s earliest focus on music & entertainment, driving initiatives in that space during her 12 years with the company. Over the course of the last 25 years, Kelli has been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work and collaborate with many people that have been instrumental in defining their respective fields—some have even become iconic. Steve Jobs, Mark Cuban, Sheryl Sandberg, Stewart Copeland, Nancy Duarte, Todd Rundgren, Alan Cohen to name a few, have all been personal mentors, colleagues, or clients. Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com

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