A new mobile platform, co-founded by SBTV’s Jamal Edwards MBE, is being launched and it aims to meet the demand for talent discovery and more immediate connections between audiences and grassroots music culture.
8BARS launches this month as a way for budding rappers and MCs to go head-to-head with, as the name suggests, eight quick-fire bars. Users then vote on their favourite and each artist will move up or down the rankings depending on the results.
It’s not just hip-hop and grime—the app is to be geared towards pretty much any genre and they’re linking up with producers from across the musical spectrum to supply instrumentals for the prospective talents.
The launch kicks off with a four-week series of in-app events in partnership with SoundCloud, beginning this week, which will include celebrity hosts, themed clashes, and prizes.
Speaking on the new app, Jamal Edwards said: “I couldn’t be more excited about the soft launch of 8BARS in the United Kingdom. I’ve been helping launch music talent over the last 15 years and I really believe 8BARS is the future of talent development and discovery. We’re democratising the process by empowering fans to discover and back artists they like and we’ll be the first platform to offer a true path of support and development for every artist on our platform with our ‘Levels’ program.
“We’re kicking off a partnership this week with SoundCloud and we have a slate of exciting in-app events planned with real prizes that will help artists as they grow their careers. The team has been working hard to get the app ready for our soft launch and we wanted to release early to make sure the community is involved in the development and feedback process.”
Find out more about 8BARS here.
