SB.TV

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Jamal Mills
Type Privately held
Industry Entertainment, Music
Genre Grime, British hip hop, acoustic
Founded 2 November 2006
(active from 25 August 2010 onwards)[1]
Founder(s) Jamal Edwards
Headquarters 145-157 St John Street,
London, United Kingdom
Area served United Kingdom, United States
Key people Jamal Edwards, Liam Tootill, Rick Tank, Paris Zarcilla, Morgan Keyz
Services F64 and A64 series,
Warm Up Sessions,
String Sessions,
The Mash Up,
3rd Degree
Employees 12
Website sbtv.co.uk

SB.TV Global Ltd, also known as SB.TV or SmokeyBarz, is a multi-faceted company run by a small team of amateur young people who work on web-based viral content at different music-based events. The media platform has its origins and roots in urban music. Most of its content can be seen on its own YouTube channel which was created on November 2, 2006 or the official SB.TV website. Much of the content includes unprofessional footage, or 'street-shot' freestyle raps and music videos. However, even though its earlier uploaded videos contained entirely amateur footage, the channel's latest uploads contains some professional recordings.

The reasonable popularity of the channel amongst London's underground scene has led to short columns in RWD, The Observer, The Guardian, The Independent, Dazed & Confused, the Sunday Times Style magazine as well as assistant production credits from when Edwards was working as a junior runner for the BBC, and Tiger Aspect Productions as well as joining the young persons panel at The Guardian's new technology conference activate summit alongside Martha Lane Fox and others.[2] Today, its YouTube channel has gained many millions of views and thousands of subscribers, as well as Facebook fans and Twitter followers.[3]

History

SB.TV was founded in 2006, when a teenage Jamal Edwards (son of The X Factor series 2 contestant Brenda Edwards) began filming rap freestyles with a handycam, which he would then upload to his YouTube account. For the first three years Edwards acted alone to provide amateur footage regarding many British grime[4] artists, such as Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Chipmunk, Breeza, Big Black, Carts, Cyber, Eggone, JT, Bradders and Tinchy Stryder, with the first SB.TV video being uploaded in February 2007.[5] As the channel began to attract more attention, it also began offering lifestyle interviews and event coverage, and a production team of ten people was established as a result.

Recently, the company has cited its aim to become a more 'diverse youth lifestyle broadcaster,' incorporating more genres of music.[6] This has been seen in the inclusion of acoustic artists such as Ed Sheeran and other popular artists such as Jessie J, Nicki Minaj, The Wanted and Pixie Lott.[7][8] In February 2011, SB.TV launched their own music label Just Jam (an imprint of Sony RCA) and recently announced their first signing as east London MC, Maxsta.[9] In March 2011 it had been suggested that the company are expected to go into business with restaurant chain Nando's.[10]

In August 2011, Edwards was featured in a Google Chrome advertisement by London advertising agency BBH, which tracked the emergence of SB.TV as one of among many of the UK's rising youth broadcasters.[11] The SB.TV website subsequently crashed as close to a million people searched "Jamal Edwards."[12] The advert was revealed to be the second most watched video advertisement on YouTube in the UK in 2011.[13] Such has been the success of SB.TV that Edwards has been credited with helping to 'reinvigorating' the UK rap and grime scene.[14]

On April 10, 2012, SB.TV released a cypher with grime collective Boy Better Know, to celebrate reaching 100 million views across all videos.[citation needed]

Services

SBTV is built on three core services: broadcasting, production and editorial services.

Broadcasting

SBTV continue to broadcast video whether for music, freestyle, acoustic, interviews or any other categories within youth culture. All of the company's content is displayed on their YouTube channel. This content is solely produced by SBTV. The company also uses social networking extensively to interact with viewers through which new blog and news articles are published.

Production

Just like broadcasting, SBTV has always produced its own content and have developed new techniques over time. Most of the content is shot in "fast and agile situations" to deliver an enticing perspective for the viewer. Among the videos that are shot, produced and directed by SBTV are music videos, documentaries and SBTV event material.

Editorial

The majority of employees at SBTV have experience in various printed urban publications and therefore know how to present material to a younger audience. This includes providing the latest news on music releases, films, music videos and artists.

References

  1. ↑ "SBTV Global Ltd". Company Check. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011. 
  2. ↑ Spicer, Kate “He is typical of many entrepreneurial satellite characters who are turning grime into not just a sound, but a movement.. Ed Balls’s Department for Children, Schools and Families wants precisely Edwards’ (ME) breed of ingenuity to infect some of the hardest to reach kids in the country.” Sunday Times Style.
  3. ↑ Ajilore, Joseph (27 May 2011.) "SB.TV has since reached over 70 million viewers on YouTube becoming one of the most subscribed channels on YouTube attracting people from all over the world." Your Hidden Potential.
  4. ↑ Fiddy, Chantelle (June 2010.) “SB.TV’s Jamal is Grime’s Simon Cowell,” Dazed & Confused, p. 28.
  5. ↑ "SB.TV: A Rising Force of Online Youth Media" — i-D.
  6. ↑ “It is the drive to succeed at the very highest level that motivates SB.TV,” RWD.
  7. ↑ Barnes, Marcus (8 September 2010.) “A sparkling acoustic performance for top online YouTube channel SB.TV helped secure his position as one of the UK's most promising newcomers.” The Sun.
  8. ↑ Goodman, Chris; Okoye, Felicia (1 November 2011). "Having expanded his repertoire – Jessie J, Nicki Minaj, The Wanted and Pixie Lott among the many celebrities who’ve now exclusively spoken to or performed for Jamal – SB.TV has become a set fixture on the major label-marketing plan and beyond.". Outside Organisation. Retrieved 19 November 2011. 
  9. ↑ SB.TV brand profile — Urban Development.
  10. ↑ "UK NEWS: SB.TV AND NANDOS CHICKEN SET TO DO BUSINESS TOGETHER?" — Mad News.
  11. ↑ "SBTV Founder Jamal Edwards Stars In New Google Chrome Advert" — We Are S.M.E.
  12. ↑ Rai, Rajvir (22 September 2011). "Jamal Edwards ... the Acton kid and his media empire". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 October 2011. 
  13. ↑ "The UK’s top ten most popular YouTube video ads in 2011". Google UK. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011. 
  14. ↑ Wartemberg, Hayel (30 August 2011). "Has Jamal Edwards reinvigorated the UK Grime Scene?". Milk and Honey Media. Retrieved 27 November 2011. 

External links

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