“Stories of Local Businesses” – Archive57893434321 05/01/2023 Venus World
By: David Allen : #658423 – X709
Venus World
Certain industries are harder to make it in than others. The arts for example, particularly being a musician. Sometimes people give up on their dreams, seeing the odds and doubting themselves, surrendering to find a more stable, while less fulfilling, career. This almost happened to one Sophie Janes, now Venus, an English singer-songwriter popularly known as Venus World on Twitch.
Twitch was founded in 2007 by CEO Emmett Shear. In its early days it was a place for gamers. They would log in to live stream or watch others play the game. Gamers were able to make profit from this platform. Amazon acquired Twitch in August of 2014 for $970 million dollars. In February of 2014 the Wall Street Journal ranked Twitch as the fourth largest website in terms of “peak interest traffic in the U.S., entertainment industry leader, and epicenter of social video for gamers.” Streamers have a few different avenues in which they can make money from Twitch. Twitch utilizes a currency called “Bits” which are sold to viewers in rising increments from 300 Bits for $1.40 to 25,000 for $308. Streamers earn one cent for each time a viewer uses a Bit to “tip” them. Additionally, streamers also receive a portion of their subscription sales as well as revenue from advertisements and marketing on their profiles. Some even include video ads in their streams.
Though Twitch started as a social video platform for gamers, it expanded into other avenues, making homes for musical artists, podcasters, comedians, etcetera. One breathtaking musical artist who found her niche through Twitch is Venus. Before becoming Venus, she was Sophie Janes. She would perform with a four or nine-piece band at live gigs, her last one outside of Twitch being a solo gig at Union Chapel which has seen tremendous artists in the past, including Elton John, Lady Antebellum, and Ellie Goulding. However, just before finding Twitch, Sophie Janes hit a dry patch with her writing. It’d been a year since writing a song and she was relying on teaching music to children and babysitting to support herself. Gigs didn’t offer much money, and in some cases would cost her. It wasn’t until one of her bandmates asked, “Have you seen Twitch?” Then, everything changed.
There was a small group of singers on Twitch at the time, musicians supportive of each other. They would share fans, and raid each other’s streams at the end of their shows. The raids consisted of imploring their watchers to join them in storming in to watch another singer’s stream. Now there are thousands of musicians on Twitch. Her joy for music came back, profoundly changing her as a person as she made her transition to Venus. She quit teaching and babysitting so that she could be all in. Venus was over-the-top emotional, even happy-cried for the first time in her life. She expressed how amazing it is to be directly supported by fans and start to really get to know your returning viewers, having the ability to connect with them without being in person. Though, she has taken the time to meet some of them in person at TwitchCon and Twitch London events. She’s even had a picnic with some fans.
The singer keeps herself busy streaming four performances a week averaging around an hour and a half to two hours per stream, giving fans a concert in their own home, a world tour from her living room. She doesn’t necessarily plan out her set list before she begins, rather instead goes with an intuitive feel, picking songs as she goes and taking requests. Her sets consist of covers as well as original songs. Venus’s aesthetic is immensely soothing as she accompanies herself on the piano, almost sending the viewer into a dreamlike state. It gives her so much of a thrill to be able to connect with her fans on this front. She sings from her parent’s home where she has a lovely set up that aligns with her soothing vocals, giving an overall calming and pleasant atmosphere. Though she has now moved in alone to a studio art community, she is not far from her parent’s in order to continue her streams. Her father is also her manager, a situation that some might think potentially problematic, but for Venus it is absolutely the best scenario. She grew up homeschooled, receiving lessons from her mother and father. Her dad started recording her singing songs around ten or eleven, and it was always natural to create music. They never make a hard switch on and off from business mode. For example, they could be playing tennis and the conversation might naturally drift to musical territory and back again, keeping a nice blend and flow.
Her father was a producer in the eighties and then started producing for Venus when she turned 16. She described how integral he is in her music and streaming process, taking her ideas and forming them into a production. Venus grew up in an extremely “zen” household, with life coaches for parents. She learned piano from her grandmother and from Youtube videos by learning the songs that she listened to, as well as attending music college for a year and a half.
Venus affectionally refers to her fans as “Beans.” It started off as greeting them as her wonderful “human beings” and it evolved into Beans due to the way she would pronounce “beings.” Each time she begins a live stream, she takes the time to individually greet her viewers, truly excited by each of them with a joy that cannot be faked. She will welcome them by name despite the quickly moving chat, which she said has done wonders for her ability to read quickly. The chat once moved at a slower pace, making it easier for Venus to connect with each viewer, but as her following has expanded to nearly 30,000 on Twitch, she has had to adjust while still working hard to keep that personal touch with each one of her Beans. Her followers can acquire “wings,” which has become her brand as it was part of one of her first designs. One can gain their wings by subscribing to VenusWorld. There are three tiers of being her subscriber, each coming with different benefits. There’s her Angels First Class, Guardian Angels, and finally Archangels.
Because growth is inevitable for Venus, I asked how she plans on keeping that closeness with her fans for which she is so well known. A topic she’s considered, Venus explained that she will continue to do her best to keep up with the chats and will utilize other solutions, such as doing some streams for subscribers only or using the Twitch tool which can manage her chats by slowing them down. She will continue to adapt as it gets faster, say to a few thousand pecking in through the chats, by picking out choice comments to respond to in between songs.
With any growing artist and increasing exposure, there comes a pressure with staying true to yourself. Venus admitted she worries about a growing head, but keeps herself grounded being so close with friends and family. She comes across as one of the most down-to-earth and humble people. Music once made her feel isolated, just singing to the walls, but now she is inspired all the time to make music and write for her audience. She describes it as “endless amounts of fun.” This was also what she emphasized as her goal musically, for it to never stop being fun while still being able to support herself. Of course, there was a time when she was younger that her goal was to be on Top of the Pops, a show out of London which hosted many big artists like the Beatles and The Stones, but it did its last broadcast in 2006. Now Venus is part of a musical micro communities which offer support without the need to be number one.
When writing, Venus is able to go thoroughly through her emotions. She is not one to express her sadness or vulnerable feelings in day-to-day life. Songwriting gives an outlet for her dramatics, and she is addicted to the feeling. She can indulge herself in the process when it comes to understanding and expressing relationships, heartbreak, love, and loss. Sometimes songs take longer for her to write, but other times they demand to be written in that moment and can be done within thirty minutes. Venus says there’s no way she can’t write a song when that happens; it demands to be made into something, almost as if it’s not her choice at all. She sees movies in her head as she writes while the songs explode out of her. Venus also has synesthesia, a neurological condition that activates an unrelated sense at the same time as a primary sense is being used. She basically writes to colors, quite a romantic notion for one to imagine. When she transformed into becoming Venus, she saw purple and gold accompanying the name.
Venus makes and edits most of her own music videos, another side job she particularly enjoys. As a teenager, she and her friend once recreated The Chronicles of Narnia scene for scene, an endeavor which took six months and says she had an absolute blast doing it. One of Venus’s newer songs “Her” took six years to write and this year she came out with its music video. “Her” is an anthem for anyone looking to be themselves no matter who they are or what society deems acceptable. The video is actually made up of clips by recurring viewers from her live streams expressing themselves in this meaningful story. While writing the song, she had an image in her head of a man putting on red lipstick. So, she only required that each video submitted included the individual wearing or putting on red lipstick while otherwise expressing themselves to the song and what it means to them. The song evokes a strong emotional response, wistful while uplifting. Her vocals touch something deep inside of you, almost haunting yet still enveloping you in a comforting embrace.
Venus keeps it PG and family friendly while on Twitch, keeping her more explicit songs off of the live streams. However, her music is for anyone and everyone who can get that emotional response and feel something, whether it is an eight-year-old boy or an eighty-year-old woman. Outside of her Venus persona, you might be surprised to discover that Sophie is more of a self-described hermit, enjoying nothing more than her time alone and in nature.
Venus is currently recording the songs for an album that she’s been writing for for six years now and working on producing for the past two. It will be the debut album for Venus, though she has others out there under her Sophie Janes persona. “Her” is one of the songs on the album, and there will 12 or 13 tracks to round it out. She is currently in her final stages of the project, working on the vocals while being cognizant of the load she puts on her voice weekly and taking the time to keep it rested, but the launch date is in progress.
This singer has a promising future in her midst. For anyone looking to unlock their emotions and melt into a song, Venus is who you want to do that with. An extraordinary talent with an endearing personality genuinely grateful for each and every fan, she is definitely one to watch.
“Stories of Local Businesses” – Archive57893434321 05/01/2023
By: David Allen : #658423 – X709