Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Weekly Round-Up # 5

/ By Doug Phillips
Weekly Round-Up # 5

The latest news on all things Jeeni, music and entertainment. 

BRITs announce the shortlist for the ‘2022 Rising Star Award’ 

Last year, the shortlist saw a vibrant and colourful shortlist consisting of Coventry rapper Pa Salieu, experimental electropop sensation, Rina Sawayama and finally the victor, Griff, a master in emotive pop songwriting. 

This year, a trio of female powerhouses makes up the shortlist, each with a distinct and remarkable display of strengths; Lola Young tends to leave space in her compositions for the raw power and emotional impact of her voice to shine first and foremost, whereas, Bree Runway takes a more bombastic, loud-and-proud approach with her floor-filling hip-hop bangers. Holly Humberstone, perhaps the most known here, seems to combine parts of both Lola’s vocal precedence and Bree’s grandiose and full instrumentals to make well-rounded pop hits. 

An exciting and promising collection of British artists, one of which are destined to join the ranks of previous prestigious winners including Adele, Florence + The Machine and Sam Smith. 

64th Grammy Nominees Announced

Speaking of nominees, the Grammy 2022 nominations were announced last week, featuring both safe and some daring inclusions. 

Jon Batise featured all over this year’s nominations list for his uplifting and soulful RnB sound. From record and album of the year to Best Contemporary Classical Composition, Batiste was in total nominated 11 times. At Jeeni, Keithian features a similar sense of joy and jubilation in his RnB style. 

Check out Keithian’s page on Jeeni: https://jeeni.com/?s=keithian 

Billie Eilish and her producer brother, Finneas also featured across many of the categories this year for their album ‘Happier Than Ever’. Other pop album nominees include Justin Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo, Ariana Grande and Brandi Charlie. Finneas also found himself on the ‘Best New Artist’ category along-side Mercury Award winner, Arlo Parks and cousin of Kendrick Lamar, Baby Keem. 

If Jeeni were included on the decision-making process, Ariana May, Marley Blandford and Olivia King would certainly be up for some of the year’s best pop performances and releases.

Check out Jeeni’s pop channel: https://jeeni.com/channel/all-channels/pop/ 

Jazz legend, Tony Bennett features several times for his and Lady Gaga’s moving and nostalgic swing album, ‘Love For Sale’ as a respectable nod from The Recording Academy. Record, album and music video of the year are just a few of Bennett and Lady Gaga’s acknowledgments in the 64th Grammys. 

Check out Jeeni’s jazz channel: https://jeeni.com/channel/all-channels/jazz/ 

Licensing Leaders PPl and PRS Make Promising Action to Improve Progress on Diversity and Recruitment in The Music Industry

Tomi Oyewumi has been enlisted as PPL’s equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) partner as a step in the right direction to influence the industry towards a more diverse and inclusive future. Tomi explains the meaning of true diversity and the impact PPL could potentially make. “That’s not just for race and gender, but looking at other areas such as social mobility. It’s about how that has an impact on what we do at PPL, but also how we can then use that to influence the wider music industry as well.” 

PRS hired Colin Campbell-Austin as head of inclusion and employee experience in October. This position is responsible for recruitment, engagement and talent development in PRS. On the PRS website they had this to say about Campbell-Austin, “Throughout his career, Colin has ensured recruitment of diverse talent from all social backgrounds, created first-class inclusive recruitment processes, talent development strategies and leadership and development programmes, with a focus on people, diversity, and inclusion.” 

More diversity means more representation and experiences expressed in the industry from all corners, resulting in a more colourful and expressive world of music. An exciting development for the industry indeed. 

Splendour in the Grass, Truck and Download; Just a Few of the Recently Announced Summer Festival Lineups 

Although governments worldwide are currently assessing the risks of COVID-19 making a much un-welcomed potential come-back, it’s hard not to get excited for the potential wave of epic festivals that we could enjoy in the coming Summer of 2022.

 Australian festival giant, ‘Splendour in the Grass’ cautiously released their lineup after many reschedules and cancellations due to COVID. ‘Splendour in the Park’ typically showcases homegrown Aussie talent with UK and USA headliners.  

For 2022, the UK corner, features the previously mentioned Holly Humberstone, Liam Gallagher, Tom Misch and headlining the first evening of the weekend is the all-genre virtual sensation, Gorillaz. The American talent includes SITP veterans, ‘Yeah Yeah Yeahs’, New York rock icons, The Strokes and Tyler, The Creator. Australia’s representatives include the new and promising Genesis Owusu, Tim Minchin and Alice Ivy. 

Oxfordshire’s ‘Truck Festival’ also announced a star-studded (albeit slightly less varied) lineup for their big weekend in July 2022. Typically featuring an exhibit of the biggest current indie acts with varying levels of something a little harder for those that want it and next year will be no different. The festival promises the likes of Bombay Bicycle Club, Blossoms and Sam Fender alongside the heavier Kasabian, Shame and Dinosaur Pile Up not to mention indie legends, The Kooks. 

Continuing the increase in heaviness, another massive festival lineup announcement comes from the legendary Donington Park ‘Download Festival’. Headliners, Kiss, Iron Maiden and Biffy Clyro are joined by heavy rock and metal peers such as Korn, Deftones, Megadeth and Black Label Society in a collaboration to deafen the entirety of Leicestershire next June 10th weekend. 

Jeeni News: 

Kissing The Flint’s New ‘100 Or Less’ Music Video Success

On the weekend, folk-rock act, Kissing The Flint released a dynamic and spirited music video for their equally feisty and powerful new single, ‘100 Or Less’. The video matches the emotional and hopeful message the single holds regarding covid and the arts not getting enough funding. Check out the video now, on Jeeni: https://jeeni.com/100-or-less-kissing-the-flint-official-music-video/ 

And check out the review of ‘100 Or Less’ here: https://jeeni.com/blog/kissing-the-flint-single-review/ 

Brand New DarkStarGraver Single

Out today, ‘Gohan’ is the newest single from rising Portsmouth rapper, singer and poet, DarkStarGraver. Catchy and bouncy, DSG's newest track is textbook melodic hip-hop. Check it out now.

Find out more about DarkStarGraver with our Artist Focus here: https://jeeni.com/blog/darkstargraver-rapper-singer-poet/ 

Jeeni PCs Still Available after Black Friday Sale! 

Jeeni has partnered with Chillblast to bring customers exclusive branded PCs designed for musicians and creatives. Chillblast is the UK’s Most Awarded PC Manufacturer. Find out more about Chillblast here, and discover why Jeeni has partnered with Chillblast to bring Special Edition music PCs with exclusive Jeeni branding. As well as a year’s subscription to the Jeeni Platform with each order worth £85. Chillblast Jeeni PCs are perfect for all musicians and creatives, whether you’re an independent bedroom pop artist or a music producer working on the next number 1 one single. Get the best deal on music PCs with our black Friday 2021 offer.

Buy your Jeeni Music PC built and warrantied by the UK’s most awarded PC manufacturer here: https://www.chillblast.com/celebrity-pcs/jeeni-pcs

Jeeni Is Looking for You to Join Our Team! 

We are currently offering the roles of Sales Executive and Senior Developer as a part of the governmental Kickstart scheme and these roles are for ages 16-24 and on Universal Credit. 

We are also offering a sales internship for university students trying to get experience during their education. 

For more information, visit: https://uk.indeed.com/jobs?q=jeeni&l&vjk=a9b44f31a3321877 

We look forward to hearing from you! 

03
Mar

Jeeni Announces that Sharron Goodyear has joined Team Jeeni as Official Photographer.

Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com Here at Jeeni HQ, we are delighted to announce that Sharron Goodyear has joined Team Jeeni. When you see Sharron's work you will know why we are so pleased. Sharron is an Award-Winning International Photographer and Film Maker, having won Fashion & Boudoir Photographer of the Year through the Master Photographer Association, Sharron has 14 years of industry experience. Sharron specialises in working with entrepreneurs, musicians, performers and artists from around the world. Sharron's photo-shoots are VIRTUAL enabling her to work with a global client base, directly from her studio, helping us gain greater visibility on our social media as a result. Sharron is super-talented, very professional, has a real eye for positioning the camera, and has perfect attention to detail, the ideal combination of skills for Jeeni members. Sharron says: "Being a photographer is a great privilege for me and it has given me the opportunity to document so many beautiful aspects of people's life journeys. Some of these people are now great friends. I am lucky enough to say I am truly passionate about what I do. Many people hide away from having their photographs taken because they don’t feel confident in how they look in front of the camera or don’t think they are photogenic. My mission is to change that belief and I want to take the best photograph you have ever seen of yourself. The VIRTUAL sessions are incredibly good fun and very relaxed and I will give you lots of direction to help you feel at ease. At the time of booking, I will talk you through everything you need to know so there are no need for nerves – just excitement! I can take a range of photos through an IPhone connection or zoom, what ever you would prefer from the comfort of your own home anywhere in the World."   As Founding Director of Jeeni, I wanted to make sure our members are in very "good hands" so I had a VIRTUAL shoot last week in the comfort of my own home, as Sharron promised the outcome would increase my social media presence. It was amazing. I had so much fun and when I changed my profile picture on Facebook to just one of the 30 pictures Sharron took I gained 210+ likes, 134 comments and 4 shares immediately. So the "proof is in the pudding" as they say, never in 10 years has that happened!! We highly recommend that you get your VIRTUAL shoot booked NOW. Check out Sharron https://sharrongoodyear.com Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com

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

17
Mar

What is Music Without Collaborations?

What is music without collaborations? We all know the collaborations that have shaped our musical tastes, Lennon and McCartney, Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. Even the Strauss brothers worked together on classical orchestral pieces in the late 1800's. The choices are infinite and across all music genres. Whether in the writing or the production, two heads can be better than one. Dr Dre and Snoop Dog - Music Collaborators Within the industry, the 'business' side is also benefitting from collaborating. Last summer, we were delighted to announce the strategic alliance between Jeeni and California-based AmplifyX, the only FINRA and SEC compliant platform that allows investors to build a portfolio by directly funding musicians. The alliance was arranged by Kelli Richards, Jeeni Managing Director USA, who was mentored by Steve Jobs at Apple where she launched and managed the Apple Music and Entertainment division. This alliance gave a major advantage to Jeeni in the USA, our most important global territory in terms of artists and revenues. We gained access to more rising stars along with their followers and fanbases, with mutually advantageous joint promotions and publicity. The partnership will officially kicked off with a global streamed concert, featuring our 10 most popular artists from both sides of the Atlantic, and will be co-branded between Jeeni and AmplifyX. Co-founder of AmplifyX, Bobby Kamaris said, “Our companies run in an adjacent space helping independent artists, and our philosophies and motives are very very close. What you guys at Jeeni have done in putting it together and launching is actually incredible.” Adam Cowherd - CEO of AmplifyX CEO of AmplifyX Adam Cowherd added, "Did you know that artists take home only 12% of the $43 billion spent on music annually, according to Citigroup? [1] The hip-hop artist Russ put it perfectly when he said, 'The music business isn’t set up for the artists to get rich. It’s set up for everyone else to get rich off the artists.' [2] When the mechanics of the music industry are broken down, we see just how many hands are in the pot: record labels, managers, producers, booking agents, and streaming platforms. A report by Ernst & Young highlighted the post-tax payouts of streaming revenue and identified that record labels are taking nearly 75% of the payout. [3] Why are artists today signing with record labels?" Founding Director Shena Mitchell adds, "Working with AmplifyX, is an exciting opportunity for Jeeni to develop strong relations with USA partners. AmplifyX is focused on building a new framework to fund independent artists with their unique platform for artists to raise capital from nontraditional sources. Our visions are entirely complementary and aligned." Jeeni, is the social music platform that brings artists closer to their fans, and shares revenue ethically. Become a member and build your showcase to promote your work and earn from it, or join as a fan and know that your money is going to the people who are entertaining you with their talents. www.jeeni.com www.amplifyx.com