Weekly Round-Up #10

Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Weekly Round-Up #10

/ By Doug Phillips

The latest developments and additions to Jeeni!

New Artists join Jeeni!

New and interesting artists fuels Jeeni's mission, and with the latest additions or talent musicians, that mission is stronger than ever;

Luca Chessa:

“Luca Chessa Is a passionate and committed music professional, with the talent and drive to succeed. Growing up amongst the vibrant and diverse music scene in Italy, and studying music in London was an environment full of inspiration and stimulation for Luca to feed off.
Luca has been gigging alongside different artists as a band member, as well as a session player, playing Rock, Funk, Pop, Blues and R&B.”

Check out his Jeeni Showcase here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/ghopvxaildzq/?view=about

Jada Freeman:

“Jada Freeman is a singer-songwriter/producer from East London. She combines her distinctive British tone with captivating RnB lyrics and melodies, creating catchy hooks for her audience to sing along to. Her lyrics delve into topics such as love, the importance of self-worth and the overall tribulations of day-to-day life. A few of her influences are Jhene Aiko, Erykah Badu, and Lilly Allen.”

Here’s the link for Jada’s Showcase: https://jeeni.com/showcase/adkcmyfeevyu/

Big Frank:

“Big Frank is a Hip Hop producer from Cornwall, based in London. Since moving to the city in 2017 he has worked as a producer and engineer, and established his sound. His style is a blend of classic Hip Hop sounds, and experimental textures. Expect more releases with the UK underground's best rappers and singers in 2022.”

Big Frank’s Jeeni showcase: https://jeeni.com/showcase/bigfrank/?view=about

WesLi D:

“Hailing from North West London, artist and producer WesLi D brings a refreshing take to UK underground and alternative rap using a blend of styles; from melodic and bouncy to somber and thoughtful, his expression is not limited sonically by any means.”

Here is WesLi D’s showcase on Jeeni: https://jeeni.com/showcase/ctq6hi7bzb6e/?view=about

Pat Spencer:

“Raised in Bexleyheath, South East London, 23-year-old Pat Spencer has been exponentially growing his music career and experience since his promising musical journey began during the summer of 2021.”

Check out Pat’s showcase on Jeeni here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/patspencer/?view=about

New Content Contributed to Jeeni’s Database of Talent!

This host of new Jeeni artists brought with them some of their incredible new music as well as other Jeeni artists which has broadened Jeeni’s database of art massively:

WesLi D - ‘Walk Of Life’ Single:

“‘Walk of Life’ is an enjoyable and upbeat track by WesLi D that presents themes of time and personal growth. The artist reflects on taking time to search and find himself throughout his journey in life as well as not letting his dreams pass him by. This track is relatable for the listener as it describes the growth and changes of a person travelling through life to figure themselves out.”

Check out this chill single here: https://jeeni.com/walk-of-life-wesli-d/

Pat Spencer & Joe Sach - ‘Alive & Surviving’ EP:

Pat Spencer’s collaboration with Jeeni artist, Joe Sach “results in a sweet and layered three-track project.” Pat Spencer’s sweet lyrics and vocal talent provide the heart to this project, while producer, Joe Sach forms the body, with day-dreamy and mellow instrumentals.

Check out the review of ‘Alive & Surviving’ here: https://jeeni.com/blog/pat-spencer-joesach-alive-surviving-ep-review/

Check out Pat Spencer’s showcase on Jeeni: https://jeeni.com/showcase/patspencer/?view=videos

Big Frank & MazeyJune - ‘Sun Outside’ Single:

“This chilled out hip-hop callback from Big Frank beckons the summer with the help of MazeyJune’s soulful voice. ‘Sun Outside’ sees Frank with his staple effortlessly serene and well-rounded beats accompanying MazeyJune’s free-flowing, enchanting melodies.”

Check out Jeeni’s review of ‘Sun Outside’ here: https://jeeni.com/blog/big-frank-mazeyjune-sun-outside-single-review-blog-jeeni/

Check out the single here: https://jeeni.com/sun-outside-mazeyjune-and-big-frank/

Jada Freeman - ‘Vibe With Me’, ‘Illusions’, ‘Willingly’, ‘You’re Not the One’, ‘Devil in the White Cloak’ and ‘Trippin’’ Singles collection:

Jada Freeman has contributed all six of her incredible singles, including 2021’s ‘Vibe With Me’, “a seductive, inviting and playful single from Jada Freeman. The track has hugely diversified her style and expanded expectations for her work ever since.” After featuring on Jeeni artist, Ace Bermuda’s debut single, Jada joined Jeeni shortly after the review of the track was published on Jeeni’s blog page.

And check out the full review of ‘Vibe With Me’: https://jeeni.com/blog/jada-freeman-vibe-with-me-single-review/

Check out her showcase here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/adkcmyfeevyu/

Ariana May - ‘First Love’ Album:

Classically trained singer and composer, Ariana May has recently released the entirety of her debut album, ‘First Love’ on Jeeni. “The album of piano compositions: ‘First Love’, charts an emotional voyage through the depths of the heart. The album possesses a combination of nostalgic, poignant and optimistic pieces that each reflect different stages of a relationship and, on a deeper level, of our mercurial emotions as we experience the elasticity and unpredictability of life.”

Check out Ariana’s incredible showcase here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/arianamay/

Giack Bazz – ‘Giack Bazz Is Not Famous’ Exclusive Single:

Giack Bazz is an alternative Rock singer-songwriter based in London. Giack takes the listener on a tour inside his mind, criticising society and discussing mental health, from love to loss.” ‘Giack Bazz Is Not Famous’ is the title track of Giack’s 2018 album. Deliberately present only on the vinyl edition and now, Jeeni, this single is an exciting and fresh take on indie rock.

Check out the exclusive single here: https://jeeni.com/giack-bazz-is-not-famous-giack-bazz/

New Artist Focus blogs:

In addition to 4 new review blogs, two new biographical, ‘Artist Focus’ blogs have been added to Jeeni’s blog page, https://jeeni.com/blog/ .

Alana Sukul: https://jeeni.com/blog/alana-sukul-artist-focus-blog-jeeni/

“Brand new to Jeeni, Alana Sukul has contributed five new tracks to several of our channels due to her music casting such a huge stylistic net. Stirring together funk, dancehall and electronic ingredients, Alana Sukul is rapidly building momentum with her unique take on modern pop.”

Cassius Gray: https://jeeni.com/blog/artist-focus-cassius-gray-blog-jeeni/

“Cassius Gray has expanded and diversified Jeeni’s hip-hop, rap and RnB channels with six incredible tracks, each one different to the last and totally refreshing. With casual, effortless rhymes and relatable vibes, Cassius Gray is making huge waves in the UK jazz rap scene.”

Reach out to the Jeeni marketing team at doug@jeeni.com or ella@jeeni.com.

Make sure you’re following us on social media to keep up to date with new releases from our artists, our blogs and any job openings.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeenimusic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeenimusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeenimusic

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12
Mar

10 of the Best for 2020

It’s that time of year, when we all start to look back and take stock of the offerings of 2020. Pandemic and lockdowns dominated but music was the tonic. Having checked in with various sites and bloggers, there is definitely a small group of albums in which at least one, has cropped up in almost everyone’s ‘Best of 2020’ lists. In no particular order, are 10 albums which got many of through lockdown, isolation, Black Lives Matter and political marches, election fatigue, uncertainty, love and loss. It’s an eclectic mix, offering view points from varied angles and experiences, including disagreement, hope and ultimately, acceptance. Any of these make your list? Let us know your thoughts and favourites in the comments below. Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud After ditching her demons, her angst and finding sobriety, Katie Crutchfield moved herself and her partner Kevin Morby back to Kansas City, USA and created a brand new sound which focuses on her newfound optimism whilst reaffirming her roots in Birmingham, Alabama and her years of being on tour around the world. What she serves up on 'Saint Cloud' is a gentle alt. folk catalogue, which many are claiming is her best writing yet. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters Well known for her reclusive tendencies, Fiona Apple had created and recorded ‘Fetch the Bolt Cutters’, her masterpiece lockdown album on her own at her Venice Beach home, before we’d even stock piled our bog roll! However, the tracks cry of liberation rather than confinement and they include a menagerie of ambient sounds, snarls, harmonies and even a dog bark, but still meet the brutality of life, head on. Featuring in many of the top music industry bloggers ‘Best of 2020’ selections, this album must be doing something right? Run the Jewels – RTJ4 Two years in the making, Run the Jewels album RTJ4 came as a gift and it’s timing was perfect. Offered up for free (as they do with all their albums) two days before it’s official release, it quickly became the Hip-Hop album of the year. 2020 has been a mind-fuck and this album brings all of that to one place, not because or in spite of, the Black Lives Matter movement, but alongside it. Killer Mike and El-P, known for their hardcore, revolutionary lyrics telling you not just how it is, but how it should and will be. Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher Following on from the huge success of her first album, this busy gal has pitched it perfectly. Clever lyrics from Phoebe Bridgers, mean her release of ‘Punisher’ offers up tracks which are specific, but have individual and solid stories. This twentysomething offers her peers some solace with her funny, dreamy, sometimes dark take on the world but is relevant and appealing. Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia Taking the influences of previous Pop Goddesses, Madonna and Kylie Minogue, with the production skills of amongst others, Mark Ronson, creating an album which ‘feels like a dance class’ was a certainty with Future Nostalgia. Flavours of disco, funk, new wave and house bring nothing but fun from the past, into the present and onto the future. Perfume Genius – Set My Heart on Fire Immediately Mike Hadreas (aka Perfume Genius) has placed ‘Set My Heart on Fire Immediately’ firmly in the alt-pop camp, but blends it with synth-pop, hefty guitar rifts and baroque harpsichord flounces. Hadreas vocal range is fabulous and leaves the listener eager for his next project. Deftones – Ohms The Deftones have brought back some hard-rocking guitar and bass riffs on their new album ‘Ohms’. After a 10-year hiatus, this will please the fans of their 2000 album White Pony. Their constant evolving and experimenting brings a revitalised sound to this new album, which will garner them new fans and satisfy their existing devotees. Thundercat – It Is What It Is Following on from his successful 2017 album ‘Drunk’, Stephen Bruner’s (aka Thundercat) fourth album brings an impressive cast of collaborators including Childish Gambino, Ty Dolla $ign and Kamasi Washington adding to the fun, jazz fusion vibes but also remembering the loss of his close friend Mac Miller is 2018 in the track ‘Fair Chance’. The Weeknd – After Hours Following on from 2016’s ‘Starboy’ and his 2018 EP ‘My Dear Melancholy’, The Weekend’s new album is a tiny swerve in a different direction and not what many people were expecting from the talented Canadian. Offering introspection and an open spirit, you can’t help but be wrapped in the adventure. Lil Uzi Vert – Eternal Atake Lil Uzi Vert’s highly anticipated follow up to his 2017 debut album ‘Luv is Rage 2’ is here. ‘Eternal Lake’ offers witty punchlines, cosmic beats, rythyms, melodies and hooks which cleverly stay with you even after the track has finished. Old themes with new ideas, make this album exciting, familiar and a definite classic.

05
Jun

Can Twitch ‘Change the Economics’ for Artists?

Why channel subscriptions and “tipping” on the Amazon-owned platform could open up a significant new revenue stream for artists in the future. ByTim Ingham The explosion of music live-streaming during lockdown means most of the music business is now au fait with Twitch, but just for the newcomers: Twitch is an online platform that allows “creators” to host live video channels on its service. Fans can subscribe to these channels for three distinct price points: $4.99 a month, $9.99 a month, or $24.99 per month. Viewers of a channel can also tip (“Cheer”) creators using the platform’s fake money (Bits) that, obviously, actually costs real money ($1.40 for 100 Bits). Revenue paid for those subscriptions is split 50/50 (minus tax and processing fees) between Twitch and the creator, while the money fans Cheer is split approximately 70/30 in favor of the creator. A less-than-well-known fact: If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can opt-in to Twitch Prime, which then supplies you with a cost-free subscription to any Twitch channel of your choosing. Or to put it another way: If an artist you love has a channel on Twitch, opting in to Twitch Prime allows you to pay them $2.50 per month, out of your existing Amazon Prime membership. Quarantine has brought more musicians flocking to Twitch than ever before, including the likes of Charlie Puth, Diplo and John Legend — who all appeared on Twitch’s Stream Aid in March to raise money for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Twitch avoids the problematic “begging bowl” undertone that can plague artists on other direct subscription services like Patreon by offering fans something in return — an exclusive, interactive live video experience — that Olson believes has an immediate premium value in the mind of the audience. Twitch comments: “Ultimately the future of entertainment is live, interactive and community driven. It’s where anyone can play a role in creating a moment, and where the audience likes to participate and actually engage in the entertainment.” Twitch is particularly enthused about the idea of Gifted Subs, which enable someone to buy another fan of a Creator a subscription to their channel. “If you want to demonstrate your fandom and support an artist, right now there’s only so much you can pay for that Spotify subscription, only so much you can pay for a meet-and-greet, only so much you can pay for merchandise. We take the top off; you could contribute as many gift subscriptions as you want for that artist, you can Cheer as many Bits as you want for that artist.” Facebook Live and YouTube have presented their fair share of popular artist-to-camera performances of late, while Instagram has hosted arguably music’s most memorable recent live-stream series, the Verzuz battles (including RZA vs. DJ Premier, Swizz Beats vs. Timbaland, Babyface vs. Teddy Riley, and Erykah Badu vs. Jill Scott). Facebook last month announced that it will soon introduce the ability for live-streamers to charge fans for access to “events,” but made no mention of matching Twitch’s direct subscription offering. Twitch argues that its monetization options, which also include ad revenue sharing tools, set it apart from rival platforms. Even when physical venues are back to full strength, Twitch believes it will establish itself as a significant way for artists to generate money outside of their recorded music catalog, their publishing catalog and their ticketed live appearances. “We know artists make the vast majority of their take home revenue from live events, and we believe Twitch can be additive to that. Where it gets interesting is when you start to think about things you can do in a digital world that you couldn’t do in the [live] space. You couldn’t allow millions of fans into an intimate setting during a creative session, or [hold] an Ask Me Anything kind of Q&A roundtable. That feeling of VIP access is something we’re seeing a lot of artists leverage.” DJ/producer Illenium and rapper T-Pain, have both recently invited their Twitch fanbase to contribute to writing sessions, via the service’s in-built chat mechanic. It is certainly early days for Twitch as a significant player in music. According to one recent report, Twitch welcomed 17 million hours of watch-time on “Music & Performing Arts” channels in April, up 385% year-on-year; but that 17 million figure made up just 1% of total viewing hours on Twitch in the month, dwarfed by the hundreds of hours of watch-time on video games-related channels. Another big challenge: Prominent songwriter and music publisher advocates have voiced concern over elements of Twitch’s licensing. David Israelite, CEO of the National Music Publishers Association, the D.C-based body that is currently threatening to sue TikTok for an alleged lack of licensing, says: “While some portions of Twitch’s platform are licensed properly, there are other large segments that contain massive infringement of musical works and it is disappointing Twitch does not do more to license its content properly. All social media sites and digital streaming services need to realize that music has value.” Twitch’s in-built karaoke service for its Creators, Twitch Sings, has been licensed by over 180 music publishers worldwide. “We have been working very directly with rights-holders as music evolves on Twitch.” However many artists Twitch attracts to its platform in future — and however many music licensing deals it signs — the company is clearly making an effort to establish its name in music circles during the current COVID-hit period. Twitch recently built a music directory that Olson says was “a real investment for us as a company”, and also launched a dedicated on-boarding area for artists. Tim Ingham is the founder and publisher of Music Business Worldwide, which has serviced the global industry with news, analysis, and jobs since 2015. He writes a weekly column for Rolling Stone. Here at Jeeni HQ, we think that Tim is a brilliant writer and clearly knows his stuff so we will be curating his work for all our members. #jeeni #unsigned #musicians #performers #timingham #musicbusinessworldwide #twitch

03
Sep

Jeeni reaches £100K funding target in 6 days

Day 6: Jeeni announces they have reached their funding target in 6 days and now aim to overfund. If you want to see our pitch click HERE. Jeeni, the social music platform that brings artists closer to their fans and shares revenue ethically, has successfully raised over £340K on Crowdcube across three rounds. With 350million streamed music subscribers and market growth up by 39% this year, Jeeni is likely to ride the wave and be a huge success, not only with unsigned musicians and performers but with their superfans. “We set a target to raise £100,000 for 2.4% with a pre-market valuation of £4M,” says Jeeni founder Shena Mitchell. “And while we have the support of several major investors, the beauty of Crowdcube is that artists themselves can actually own a stake in the company for as little as £10.” Shena continues, “Jeeni’s mission is to support unsigned music and performers, by helping them build a fanbase. We aim to fast-track careers in the music business, and make sure they take the lion’s share of the revenue that’s raised. Jeeni is needed more than ever in this Covid-19 New Normal, and we have proved that the demand is high. Currently we can only support 100,000 videos, so we must now move up a gear as we head for global roll-out. This Round Three investment will be used to scale up again and launch our next-generation platform. It will also be used to develop our iOS and Android apps. With the financial backing secured, we’ll be creating new jobs in the area, which is great for the local economy. When you consider the wealth of music talent in Portsmouth – hosting over 2,000 music events a year with Victorious, The Guildhall, Band Stand, Wedgewood Rooms, and all the Portsmouth Festivities and pubs – we’re alive to the opportunities of our local music culture, creativity and talent. But with live venues locked down for now, the online opportunity of Jeeni is greatly increased. It’s so cool to think someone reading this might choose to invest in Jeeni now with just £10, and then use Jeeni to build their own fanbase for fame and success! We’re going to try hard to make sure that happens.” JEENI is currently inviting investment on Crowdcube. To find out how to get involved please join our mailing list for updates or check out our fundraising pitch. If you want to see our pitch click HERE.

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