Q&A Engaging new audiences
Jamal Edwards is one of the most iconic UK entrepreneurs to have emerged from the digital space. He speaks to Crystal Mahey-Morgan
CRYSTAL MAHEY-MORGAN What was the opportunity you saw when you launched your YouTube channel? JAMAL EDWARDS I noticed that there was a lot of funny videos on YouTube but there wasn’t that much original music content. Because of this it felt like there was a huge gap in the market and a potential oppor- tunit, so I thought, Why don’t I try to do something about it?
CM-M Why do you think others didn’t spot it? JE I’m not sure. I used to live on YouYube, watching funny videos. One day I wanted to see some- thing different so I started looking for urban music videos, and to my surprise there were none. Or there was no original content like this that had been made especially for YouTube. There was just stuff that had been ripped from DVDs or TV performances or films. I was inter- ested to see what would happen if I uploaded original urban-music content. My instincts told me there was a gap in the market, so I uploaded a couple of videos. When I saw the views they were geting and the fact that everyone was talk- ing about them, I knew there was a demand and a real opportunit.
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Jamal Edwards is a keynote speaker at the FutureBook
Conference on 2nd December in London
CM-M You were among the first YouTubers; what do you make of the explosion of interest in the platform recently, and the way YouTubers have now broken out more widely? JE I think it’s great. Now it’s easier to get noticed, but that means that to be a successful YouTuber your content has to punch above its weight. It’s a great platform for leting talented young people get their content out there and it enabled me to do TV, a book and lots of other things. I think it will just keep on building. Next year is 10 years of [my channel] SBTV but I feel I’m not even half-way through my career. YouTube was bought in November 2006, and that’s when I actually opened a YouTube chan- nel. I uploaded my first video to it in February 2007. For me it’s still early days. I think the next five years are going to be the most interesting.
CM-M Why do you think it’s taken so long for more traditional media businesses to understand this? JE I think they’re just too rigid and also full of people in high-up positions who come from a differ- ent generation and don’t under- stand younger generations because they’re not a part of it. Sometimes they might learn about things by speaking to their children, younger siblings, nieces and nephews, and through that come to learn about what’s hot. But otherwise, it’s so far away from their worlds... [they should] collaborate with the people who are in the space. Sit down with them, hear them out, listen to the plans they have. Understand how they can bring a new edge to old institutions and businesses.
CM-M You’ve built a business but also expressed your vision across a range of media: is there any strategy around this, or are you going where the audience is? JE I was going where my audience was going and once I got in there, that’s when I started building a strategy around it. But the audience always did, and always does, come first. The strategy gets built around the audience.
CM-M You’ve also published a
series of e-books. How did you feel about this experience? JE For me it was a whole new experi- ence. I think I was the first YouTu- ber with a book, but now everyone seems to have one! For me it was really nice to not only have been a pioneer in terms of YouTube, but also in regards to being the first YouTuber to enter the book space. It’s interesting to see the budgets that are behind some of the YouTu- bers’ books now. It wasn’t the case when I did mine. I’m also proud to have helped show how to engage with new, younger and traditionally hard to reach audiences in terms of read- ing and buying books. I really enjoyed the process of publishing a book and developing an edito- rial concept which took the idea of a non-linear book that felt more like a game. It wasn’t only uncon- ventional in terms of the way the content was presented, but also in the way it was published. Instead of being published as one whole book we published in a series of digi- tal e-books that we called “levels”. Perhaps it was a risk, but it was right for my core audience and ended up being a digital bestseller. There was then a demand for a physical edition, which we followed up with. I believe this was an instrumen- tal step in publishers realising the potential of YouTubers. The whole thing, from start to finish, was a great experience. I’d love to do another book.
CM-M You’re a fantastic advert for spotting an opportunity, but also understanding your audience. What can you teach us? JE Be flexible and open to ideas. If someone in my company has an idea, I can execute it very quickly and I’m always open and easily accessible to everyone. I’m also very transparent, and encourage trans- parency. Perhaps the biggest thing, though, is not to be afraid of taking risks. Try things out and if it doesn’t work, try it again in a different way—but keep trying, keep going. Also try and discover and pioneer stuff that isn’t in the mainstream. What can you put out there that isn’t already out there? Or what can you put out there in a different way? ×
FutureBook | 2nd December 2016
Tunnel Vision
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