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

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 

12
Mar

Greetings from Kelli Richards, Jeeni's USA MD

Kelli Richards Greetings from Kelli Richards, Jeeni's USA Managing Director, former A&R Executive EMI Music and an artist superconnector. Mentored by Steve Jobs at Apple, she launched and managed the music and entertainment division, resulting in the birth of global music online, now known as Apple Music. Here she sends greetings for 2021 and an update on her plans and ideas for shaping a path through this, another possibly unusual year. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi, Greetings! It's our first newsletter of 2021 and I want to wish each of you a happy and healthy 2021! This past year has been a tough one for everyone. I don't know about you but I'm looking forward to a fresh start, exploring new opportunities and renewing my passion for the possible. Be sure to scroll down and read my recent articles which may help you make 2021 the best year ever. Yes, it's possible. Even with the "new normal" we're living in. It's about having the courage to ask for what you want, and the willingness to make changes and adjustments that will support the habits and behaviors that work towards your success not against it. It's about defining what success looks like for you and setting your intentions for the year. It's time to take life off of "pause" and start re-shaping your future. In my work as a trusted advisor, I'm all about working with my clients to transform the quality of their lives. If you need some guidance or support in navigating what's next, reach out and let me know. And, be sure to read the current Client Spotlight article featuring a start-up I've been working with and super excited about, MultiView Media. This platform enables content owners in music and sports to stream historic video content or livestream shows in a multi-camera angle format and has been described as technology that lets the fan be their own director.Stay safe and well,~Kelli The Magic of Asking for What You WantDo you believe you can have virtually anything you want? I do. We all have a magic wand that can help us achieve our desires, but we forget that we do and overlook the power at our disposal to dramatically increase the odds of having what we say we most want in our lives... Client Spotlight: MultiView MediaI'm excited to share that one of the start-ups I've been working with over the past couple of years, Multiview Media, led by founder/CEO Ray Meadham has launched our multi-camera angle streaming platform... Nine Steps to Making Change EasierChange doesn't have to be hard; here are some tips to make it a smoother process... www.jeeni.com www.kellirichards.com

12
Mar

Live Virtual Gigs in the Gaming Metaverse

In November last year, a live virtual gig took place in the gaming Metaverse of world platforms. Rapper Lil Nas X took to the stage in Roblox, and performed in a free-to-view event, which broke all previous records to become one of the the most viewed concerts of all time, pulling in a worldwide record-breaking audience of over 35-million visits. Lil Nas X's Virtual Gig - Credit: Still Roblox is a platform of over 50-million user designed video games. The concert was their first, but they have also partnered with music label Monstercat and delivered an album release party for Ava Max. Could this collective gaming audience be the music world's perfect audience of the future? Taking inspiration from Lil Was X's videos and songs, various stages were created for in-game virtual performances using PBR rendering, lighting, shadowing and facial recognition technologies available on the Roblox platfom. Speaking ahead of his performance, Jon Vlassopulos, global head of music at Roblox, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with Columbia Records to bring Lil Nas X fans and the Roblox community together in an entirely new way.“This concert with Lil Nas X will transport players and their friends into the metaverse, and bring to life the future of what immersive, social experiences can look like.” The experience is a long way from the first pixelated forms of performers or being able to control Michael Jackson in the 1990's 'Moonwalker' whilst he rescues children to the sound of his hit 'Smooth Criminal'. However, the online gaming world became a far greater player when Grand Theft Auto realised the potential of licensed music. They allowed players to access perfectly curated radio stations whilst creating chaos and mayhem in the streets of Miami. Michael Jackson in the Moonwalker video game Roblox are not the only gaming platform to take on the music gig. Fortnite allowed Travis Scott to host a gig from a stage in the water off the resort of Sweaty Sands. People attended the concert from wherever they were in the game, as their personally created avatar, whilst they continued to fire at the people around them. Travis Scott's Virtual Gig in Fortnite The following concert was brief, just a 10-minute pop of Scott's hits, with incredible visual pyrotechnics. The world of Fortnite transformed kaleidoscopically around Scott and the artist came right up to the viewers, giving the sense of being able to reach out and touch him. One moment, fire poured from his body; the next, his face melted to reveal a robotic skull. According to developer Epic Games, more than 28m people watched the show. Gaming Metaverse platforms like Roblox, Minecraft and Fortnite are being chosen for these live virtual gigs because their worlds are moving into something beyond gaming. The platforms are used by kids wanting to hang out with their mates and socialise, a virtual environment which has become so relevant and meaningful to the users during the pandemic lockdowns.