Really: You Couldn't Make It Up

The term broadcasting means to send a message to many people and a few years ago in the good old world of terrestrial television that was exactly what TV did. Now in the era of cable and Freeview and about a zillion channels on offer, TV stations are becoming more niche. We have MTV, E4, Zone Romantica, Zone Thriller, E! and numerous others which are all aimed at different audiences and the process of narrow casting is being applied. UKTV has got this down to a tee, in 2007 after going through some major rebranding they launched, Dave which is a blokey channel dubbed the home of the witty banter. Programmes such as Top Gear, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News For You and Dragon's Den are featured on here.

This week saw the launch of Really (taking over the now defunct UKTV Gardens) which is a girlie girlie channel that is home to hip reality shows which ladies are not ashamed to admit that they watch. We have shows such as What Not to Wear, Spendaholics, Mary Queen of Shops, The Clothes Show and The Rachel Zoe Project. What an exciting line up! I was so thrilled when I heard and in terms of appealing to 18-35 year old women, UKTV have nailed it on the head here. Along with Dave, Really joins the likes of Alibi, Eden, Gold, Yesterday and Home which is a new home and interiors channel.

You can find Really on Sky 248 or Virgin TV 267. Enjoy!

Image from image.net

Pop Babylon

Not very long ago I used to look at famous pop stars on TV and be envious of how rich they were what with their multi million album deals and super glam lifestyles. Little did I realise that things were not as perfect as they seemed. Musicians and singers were nothing more than commodities and the music industry is very little about talent and more about unit sales. Once the poor artists has signed on the dotted line they were fleeced by their managers and label mercifully. Hence the dynamic initiative by Hamfatter, a rock band who appeared on this week's business reality show, Dragon's Den pitching for investment. When asked why they did not go down the conventional route of record labels, they put it simply, "when you sign with a record label you are given an advance as you would have when buying a house, at the end when you have paid back that advance you own your home, however in the music industry, the record company would still own your material." A no brainer. Yet this is just the tip of the iceberg of the debauchery that goes on in the music business which is captured perfectly by Imogen Edwards-Jones in her new book, Pop Babylon. The 'Babylon' books go behind the scenes of a glamorous industry and exposes all the scandals and lies. Pop Babylon is no different and shows us exactly what it takes to create a top selling boy band and the huge engine that ticks behind them. Lots of juicy secrets are revealed and mark my words you close the book feeling very sorry for those pop tartlets.

Imogen Edwards-Jones's bestselling series, Hotel Babylon is now a popular TV series which she followed up with Air Babylon, Fashion Babylon and Beach Babylon. She works in conjunction with anonymous insiders to get these sensational stories which really bear their fruit in the scintillating Fashion Babylon. This is one of my favourite books of all time, it is told through the eyes of an established up and coming designer and teaches you all the tricks of the trade. Such as how many designers pay a visit to a certain vintage store in Notting Hill to get ideas, how they buy a white shirt from a high store, replace the label with theirs and send it down the runway and slap huge mark ups on their pieces. It is all here and if you love your fashion, you will adore this book.

Pop Babylon is out now!