Today’s guest blog is written by Fi Case and Barbara Bishop who are the founders of Zeamu music. They realised that whilst pre-school and primary children loved listening to pop music there wasn’t any that really resonated and was relevant to them lyrically and set about plugging the gap. They have also kindly agreed to giveaway 10 copies of the Zeamu music CD. Scroll down to find out how to get your hands on a copy.
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Pop music for kids – is there a demand?
Music can be such a powerful way to connect with people. With most adult pop music, 
children are only getting half the experience i.e. they’re getting the music without necessarily understanding the words, as more often than not, they are not relevant to them. There isn’t any pop music that really connects lyrically with young children.
With children’s TV, they cater for different ages. From CBeebies, kids then progress to CBBC and Nick Jnr. Children might watch Masterchef or Eastenders with their parents but they are more likely drawn to channels specifically for them as that is what resonates best with them and what they enjoy most. The same applies with books. When kids are tiny they look at picture books. As they grow up and learn to read, books become available to them that suit not only their age group and ability to read, but also that are relevant and written specifically for them.
So with music, why is it that we have the Tweenies and The Wiggles for pre-schoolers and then we have mainstream pop? What about the Inbetweenies (4-10)? Those kids are discovering their own music taste and who may want to listen to music of their own.
We wondered if there was a demand for pop music written especially for younger kids; dealing with topics that affect them but with the mainstream pop sound they’re beginning to get into around the age of 4 or 5. So we set up Zeamu Music as an independent record company that produces music specifically for pre-school and primary children.
We worked with a group of amazing musicians and producers who were all really excited about this brief – to create some truly original, mainstream, style pop music that wasn’t patronising and covered topics that were relevant to younger kids. Our producers have also worked with a wide variety of mainstream artists so are used to creating very highly produced pop music.
The biggest challenge we now have is that when you say ‘kids pop music’ to adults they automatically assume it won’t be any good! The response once they have listened to the album has been fantastic! And as for the kids – we have tested it with hundreds of children and carried out workshops in schools. And they love it too!
Children will always listen to music and to try and stop them listening to mainstream pop would be both counterproductive and unrealistic. We created Zeamu Music to try to offer some more relevant music that can sit alongside what kids want to listen to today. The hope is that it hits the production values that kids have come to expect but provides content that enables them to truly engage with the music.
Together with the Zeamu characters that we have designed and made music videos for, the Zeamu world of music is one that kids can really enjoy, own and have fun with.
Find out more at www.zeamumusic.com The album is available to buy on the website or from iTunes.
You can also listen to previews of the tunes on the website and there are some lovely free print outs and colour-in activities there too.
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Win….win….win
Zeamu music are giving away 10 copies of their music CD to ten lucky winners. To enter this competition simply add your comment to this blog post and we will pick out ten lucky winners from all comments received by January 31st. Usual Netmums terms and conditions apply.
Fab idea, and a real connection with this age group. I’m sharing this music with my mummy mates, and gauging their reactions – their kids of course!
Hoping the mummies love it too!!
Wow this sounds truelly amazing and certainly ideal for the inbetween ages of children who love listening to music, can’t wait to hear it!
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Fab idea, my kids love music; singing and dancing, Melody is always asking to have a little disco!
On the website we have a party pack you can download with invites and backstage passes, and karaoke versions of the songs with lyric sheets so they can have their own little karaoke party in the kitchen!
Fab idea. My kids (9, 7, 4) all love music and so many pop songs have inappropriate lyrics :/ the 7yo was shocked That there was swearing in one song…… Doesn’t stop them learning all the words either!
Hi there, this sounds fantastic, my daughter is always singing, in the car, in the bath.. I was a bit worried in the respect that she is singing gangdam style.. Hey sexy lady… Though, she does not understand the words as She is only 4 and I worry if she sing it in nursery etc. It would be fab for her to get a cd she can actually listen to and understand the words she is singing.
Sounds good, there is so much innapropriate music for children to listen to once they reach that age, yet not much that IS. (hearing a 5 year old singing about a womaniser etc is quite shocking!) makes a nice change.
very good idea I normally change the words to songs if I dont want my daughter singing them
This is a great idea! My two children (6 & 5) love music and as the younger pre-school music is too babyish (their terms) for them they have no started to listen to the Now collections but also like some of the pop stars around. Problem with this is that their cd’s are nearly always completely inappropriate for young children. I will definitely get them to have a listen to yours
Great idea, would love to try one of the CD’s
My son (4) and daughter (7) both love music (regular dance sessions held on our double bed at 8am to Fun Kids on digital radio). I love the idea of “Inbetweenies” music – (we’ve paid our dues to multi-billionaires The Wiggles) and besides, it would alleviate the desperate swivelling of volume controls when driving down a motorway at high speed….who knew James Blunt could be so rude!
Sounds like a good idea. Will be visiting your website to learn more!
Sounds very interesting. Just what my little ones need.
sounds a good idea, my kids would love to give it a try
Brilliant idea we have real problems looking for the clean versions of songs we have 8 year old boy who loves music
Fantastic idea.. Perfect for background music while driving with kids.
my little boy loves music and dancing, this sounds great!
Just had our daughter’s 5th birthday party and found a pop party CD that was fairly suitable and that the kids loved, but still wanted my husband to turn the music down at certain words!. This sounds like a great idea. The Duck Song is our favourite at the moment!!
Great idea!! My littlw boy will love this
Great idea! It always makes me sad when I hear 6 year old girls singing very provocative Katy Perry lyrics without having a clue what they mean. There is DEFINITELY a gap in the market for this Zeamu CD. A favourite in our house is the music of Aussie Playschool presenter Justine Clarke (who, incidently, played Roo on Home and Away back in the late 80s/early 90s). My 3 year old son, Callum, doesn’t really go around singing songs much, but he is fixated by her (very pop sounding) Dinosaur Song. I’d love to win a copy of the Zeamu CD, so we can see if it too has the same effect, with Callum stomping around singing (well, melodically screaming really) at the top of his lungs with a face of pure joy!
would love to win this my daughter would be thrilled
sounds goood for kids – but will it shut them up lmao xx
I really think that music is essential for children. My daughter is only 6 months old and already bops along to her favourite tunes (the Little Charley Bear theme tune extra-specially!!!) It’s lovely to see the smile on a little one’s face as they dance along!!
Wonderful idea, my 2 children love music and are always forming a band with friends! Fab website also!
i think its a brilliant idea. kids love music but to have something aimed just at them is even better
Sounds like a great idea, would love one
I love the idea of music for the inbetweenies. Piper is 5 and she’s getting a bit too old for the really little music on Cbeebies but I cringe when she listens to adult or even ‘teen’ music because the words really aren’t suitable for a 5 year old. When they love music it’s a shame not to have something suitable for them
Great idea ,it can be a job to know what to move on to after nursery rhymes and traditional childrens songs and this seems a good idea before they move on to chart music.
I love this idea – wish I’d thought of it! Fabulous. And I love the character artwork too! Very sweet.
Absolutely brilliant, the more we can get our kids moving the better…far to much computers, laptops, Xboxes and tvs and that’s just in my house..Would love to get me and my kids dancing and moving more;)
I think this idea is absolutely brilliant I certainly will be getting one for my twin boys
Sounds like a good idea to me.
I’d love to win. I think the themed songs (Christmas, Summer etc) that the CBeebies presenters sing would work as a style.
My 6 year old son and my 2 year old daughter sing alot of the songs from the radio as i love to have music on but i do worry about what certain songs they hear. This Cd sounds brilliant and a great thing to put on when they are in the car or dancing indoors. A special thing for them both to share together and have fun with and still share all our love of music xx
Wicked idea, as I don’t like the lyrics of adult music mu children end up listening to.
Great idea, my kids (5, 2 & 9mo) love music and dancing round the living room but we usually have to stick to nursery rhymes, due to lyrics and appropriateness so this sounds fab!
I love this. I am training to become a fitness instructor for children and am seriously considering using this in my various classes. It will save me having to ‘vet’ every song I use and hopefully motivate the kids to move!
i really want to try this and totally believe in the ethics behind it …..it’s about time we had something new and innovotive and will no doubt rave about it to all my yummy mummy friends.
Certainly a demand, if my 3 month old Grand Daughter has anything to do with it, She loves music already,and I’m sure would enjoy listening to this!!
This sounds like a brilliant idea. My son loves singing and we get serenaded with the songs he learns at school each day. Even if I don’t win, I will look at buying this. (After the prize draw date of course…..)
brilliant idea – there is definitely an area that is uncatered for
Good idea. I hadn’t really noticed how many adult pop songs were inappropriate until I had my daughter. This will get them involved without the danger of picking up a rude word or bad message.
Sounds like a fab idea
my LM is always looking for a chance to have a boogie and there’s almost nothing appropriate to play
Sounds great, there’s a real gap in the market atm
This is a great idea! I imagine it’ll be welcomed by schools, TV, movies etc too as it can be tricky to find the right level of “safety” in children’s education and entertainment without being bland or too child-like. I run Allstars Rockschool for kids and teens and we have to be careful what songs we choose to teach youngsters. Record labels warn of “explicit” lyrics but often it’s not so much the language as the subject matter.
Well done folks, really looking forward to hearing the music!
Sounds like a fab idea! Especially as a lot of the female singers out their help to over sexualise our younger children with their lack of clothing and erotic dancing
This sounds great as my little boy loves listening and dancing to music but am always worried that if I play our cds there may be lyrics that he should not be listening to. A cd specifically for children is a great idea and look forward to listening too!
Sounds brilliant!!
What an amazing idea!!! My twin girls LOVE dancing along to music, but I don’t like them listening to some Pop, as it doesn’t seem suitable for them!
all children should be introduced to music my boys love jumping around and learing songs and making up little dances,
I really think this is a great idea. I feel lots of pop music have great tunes but the lyrics are another matter. I think with Zeamu kids can get the best of both
Sounds like a lovely idea. If my little boy hears music coming from inside a shop he actually stops for a little dance, ha!
I love this idea! My child(4) loves music. At christmas he would dance around to the christmas songs and currently loves 80′s music for some reason – he keeps singing ‘Video killed the radio star’ whilst playing on his toy piano!! A born entertainer!!
Great idea…….much more suitable than most “pop” songs!
What a suoerb idea my son really started getting into music but I have started to pull back from letting him listen to it purely because of the content and listening him to sing words I would not teach a 3 and 6 year old to use in every day life but he is singing as we are doing the shopping etc. Another idea that plug a gap in the market – very much looking forward to it. Is it available in tescos, where will it be played childrens fun centres, activities places etc?
Sounds fab, cant wait to hear it x
What an unusual prize.
I have been amazed watching my little boy (13 months) develop a love of music and starting to bob along and now dance to music. Although my partner and myself are music fans I can’t say our son has ever seen either of us dancing so its not something he’s learned from copying anyone, which highlights to me how pure and natural a thing appreciating music and dancing must be to children. I’d love to have age appropriate music like this to play for him other than plinky plonky nursery rhymes – he loves something with a good beat!!
Would love to hear this and see what my daughter thinks of it. Certainly different
My Daughter loves music as much as her Mummy n Daddy do!
She loves singing and dancing and she would love to hear this CD! 
Great idea – all in favour of children being children rather than mini adults. Mr grand-daughters would love this as they are just ready for the post nursery songs stage.
what a fab idea
PLEASE can we win, my poor ABBA cd has been hammered by the kids!
PLEASE can we win one. My kids have hammered my ABBA cd and really need to broaden their music horizons! X
Fantastic idea! My daughter has only just turned 5 and loves nothing better than a disco – I’m happy too as all that prancing around is good exercise and wears her out lol!
Better for them to listen to something age appropriate than mimic rappers etc, makes me cringe seeing tiny tots mimicking something that they should of never or heard & have no understandign of
really good idea for little ones
my daughter loves most pop music, pity it isnt all age appropriate
it’s a great idea, my daughter loves pop music and loves dancing, I’d love to hear it