SB.TV
Encyclopedia
SB.TV Global Ltd, also known as SB.TV or SmokeyBarz, is a multi-faceted company run by a small team of 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 unprofessionally filmed, or 'street-shot' freestyle raps and music videos. However, even though its earlier uploaded videos contained entirely amateur footage, the channel's latest uploads contain more professional recordings.
The company's success has led to questionable columns in RWD, The Observer
, The Guardian, The Independent, Dazed & Confused
, the Sunday Times Style
magazine as well as assistant production credits with the BBC
, Tiger Aspect Productions
and joining the young persons panel at The Guardian’s new technology conference activate summit alongside Martha Lane Fox
and others. Today, its YouTube
channel has gained over 70 million views and thousands of subscribers, as well as Facebook
fans and Twitter
followers.
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
artists, such as Dizzee Rascal
, Wiley
, Chipmunk
and Tinchy Stryder
, with the first SB.TV video being uploaded in February 2007. As the channel began to attract more attention, it also began offering lifestyle interviews and event coverage, and a production team of ten was established.
Recently, the company has cited its aim to become a more 'diverse youth lifestyle broadcaster,' incorporating more genres of music. 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
. 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. In March 2011 it had been suggested that the company are expected to go into business with restaurant chain Nandos.
In August 2011, the company's founder was seen starring in a Google Chrome
advertisement, which tracked the emergence of SB.TV as one of the UK's rising youth broadcasters. The SB.TV site subsequently crashed as close to a million people googled "Jamal Edwards." Such has been the success of SB.TV that Edwards has been credited with helping to 'reinvigorating' the UK Rap and Grime scene.
, Urban Development and vinspired
. These initiatives aim to provide opportunities and events which SB.TV supports. Following the August 2011 riots, SB.TV, Channel 4
Education and Battlefront.com
worked together to create an online forum and discussion board called DB8. The forum, which is held at Portcullis House
in the Houses of Parliament, acts as a platform for young people to respond and provide opinions through print and video blogs on topical issues.
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel which was created on November 2, 2006 or the official SB.TV website. Much of the content includes unprofessionally filmed, or 'street-shot' freestyle raps and music videos. However, even though its earlier uploaded videos contained entirely amateur footage, the channel's latest uploads contain more professional recordings.
The company's success has led to questionable columns in RWD, The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, The Guardian, The Independent, Dazed & Confused
Dazed & Confused (magazine)
Dazed & Confused is a British style magazine, that was set up in 1992 and published monthly. Its founding editors were Jefferson Hack and Rankin...
, the Sunday Times Style
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
magazine as well as assistant production credits with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Tiger Aspect Productions
Tiger Aspect Productions
Tiger Aspect Productions is a British television production company, particularly noted for its situation comedies. Co-founded by producer Peter Bennett-Jones, its productions have included popular hits such as The Vicar of Dibley and Mr. Bean...
and joining the young persons panel at The Guardian’s new technology conference activate summit alongside Martha Lane Fox
Martha Lane Fox
Martha Lane Fox is an English businesswoman and charity trustee, who has been engaged as a public servant chairperson on various e-commerce projects and investigations...
and others. Today, its YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel has gained over 70 million views and thousands of subscribers, as well as Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
fans and Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
followers.
History
SB.TV was founded in 2006, when a teenage Jamal Edwards (son of The X Factor (UK)The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
contestant Brenda Edwards
Brenda Edwards
Brenda Edwards is a British singer and West End actress. Known for her strong vocals and personality, she rose to fame during her appearance on the second series of The X Factor, where she came fourth.-Early Life:...
) 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
Grime (music)
Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop...
artists, such as Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a Ghanaian British rapper, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of garage, hip hop, grime, ragga, pop and electronic music, with eclectic samples and more exotic styles...
, Wiley
Wiley (rapper)
Richard Kylea Cowie , better known by his stage name Wiley is a prolific British music producer, MC and recording artist, and rapper with roots from Trinidad...
, Chipmunk
Chipmunk (rapper)
Jahmaal Noel Fyffe known by his stage name Chipmunk, is a British hip hop rapper and songwriter from Tottenham, London....
and Tinchy Stryder
Tinchy Stryder
Kwasi Danquah III , better known by his pseudonyms Tinchy Stryder and Star In The Hood, is a Ghanaian British recording artist, music executive, A&R executive, and businessman...
, with the first SB.TV video being uploaded in February 2007. As the channel began to attract more attention, it also began offering lifestyle interviews and event coverage, and a production team of ten was established.
Recently, the company has cited its aim to become a more 'diverse youth lifestyle broadcaster,' incorporating more genres of music. This has been seen in the inclusion of acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
artists such as Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher "Ed" Sheeran is an English singer-songwriter who is currently signed to Asylum / Atlantic Records. Sheeran broke through commercially in June 2011, when his debut single "The A Team" debuted at number 3 on the UK chart.-Early life:Sheeran was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire to...
and other popular
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
artists such as Jessie J
Jessie J
Jessica Ellen Cornish , better known by her stage name Jessie J, is an English recording artist currently signed to Island Records. She began her career as a songwriter for artists including Chris Brown and Miley Cyrus. Her debut single, "Do It Like a Dude", was released in November 2010 and peaked...
, Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
, The Wanted
The Wanted
The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band based in London, England. The band consists of Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, Tom Parker and Nathan Sykes. Their debut single, "All Time Low", was released in July 2010 and reached number one in the United Kingdom for one week...
and Pixie Lott
Pixie Lott
Victoria Louise "Pixie" Lott is an English singer-songwriter, dancer and actress. Her debut single "Mama Do" was released in June 2009 and went straight to number one in the UK Singles Chart. Her second single "Boys and Girls", also topped the UK charts in September 2009. Her debut album Turn It...
. In February 2011, SB.TV launched their own music label Just Jam (an imprint of Sony RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
) and recently announced their first signing as east London MC, Maxsta. In March 2011 it had been suggested that the company are expected to go into business with restaurant chain Nandos.
In August 2011, the company's founder was seen starring in a Google Chrome
Google Chrome
Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google that uses the WebKit layout engine. It was first released as a beta version for Microsoft Windows on September 2, 2008, and the public stable release was on December 11, 2008. The name is derived from the graphical user interface frame, or...
advertisement, which tracked the emergence of SB.TV as one of the UK's rising youth broadcasters. The SB.TV site subsequently crashed as close to a million people googled "Jamal Edwards." Such has been the success of SB.TV that Edwards has been credited with helping to 'reinvigorating' the UK Rap and Grime scene.
Services
The SB.TV channel has two main series, F64 and A64, that include a Warm-Up Sessions series which is similar to F64 but usually incorporates old lyrics, (which exist as rap freestyles and acoustic sessions, respectively), as well as interviews, music videos, ad virals and bespoke commissions, with some recognisable artists, brands and charities. Some of the company's media partners include Spirit of London, Virgin UniteVirgin Unite
Virgin Unite is the working name of The Virgin Foundation, the independent charitable arm of the Virgin Group. Created by Richard Branson and Virgin employees in September 2004, Virgin Unite pools volunteering efforts from across the Virgin Group and its hundreds of subsidiaries and associated...
, Urban Development and vinspired
Vinspired
vV, the national young volunteers service, is an independent charity dedicated to helping young people volunteer in their local communities...
. These initiatives aim to provide opportunities and events which SB.TV supports. Following the August 2011 riots, SB.TV, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
Education and Battlefront.com
Battlefront.com
Battlefront.com is a video game developer and publisher. Battlefront specialises in war-related games, including turn-based and real-time strategies, as well as simulations of air, land and naval military vehicles....
worked together to create an online forum and discussion board called DB8. The forum, which is held at Portcullis House
Portcullis House
Portcullis House is an office building in Westminster, London, UK, that was commissioned in 1992 and opened in 2001 to provide offices for 213 Members of Parliament and their staff, augmenting limited space in the Palace of Westminster and surroundings....
in the Houses of Parliament, acts as a platform for young people to respond and provide opinions through print and video blogs on topical issues.
External links
- SB.TV on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- SB.TV on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- SB.TV on TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...