Somethin' Else is a London and New York content agency, specialising in content strategy and production across video, television, audio and social media.[1][2] It was founded in 1991 by Jez Nelson, Chris Philips and Sonita Alleyne, and was acquired outright by Sony Music Entertainment in 2021, after a number of joint venture projects between the two,[3][4][5] with the company being part of Sony Music's Global Podcast Division.
History
Somethin' Else is a media production company[6] set up in 1991. The company's first production was the Gilles Peterson Show, created for the UK's independent radio network in 1993 and currently broadcast by BBC 6 Music in a Saturday afternoon slot.[7]
It is responsible for producing a number of radio programmes for BBC Radio 1,[8] BBC Radio 1xtra,[9][10] BBC Radio 2[11][12] and 6Music[13][14][15] with The Kitchen Cabinet[16] and Gardeners' Question Time,[17] made for BBC Radio 4[18] and Kermode and Mayo's Film Review produced for BBC Radio 5 Live for 21 years.[19][20][21][22][23][24] It is the BBC's biggest multi-platform supplier, and as well as producing over 35 weekly radio shows for the corporation, it makes television for BBC 4 and iPlayer and creates social media for the BBC's music radio brands. Television projects have included the modern day version of Jazz 625 for BBC Four, a jazz music programme originally broadcast by BBC 2 in the mid 1960s.[25][26]
In 2017, it was the only company in the UK to feature in Campaign Magazine's School Reports and Broadcast Magazine's Top 100. On 16 June 2021, Sony Music Entertainment announced that the company had acquired Somethin' Else.[46]
On 1 April 2022, the last ever episode of Kermode and Mayo's Film Review was broadcast by the BBC,[47] with Somethin' Else announcing that the replacement show, called Kermode and Mayo's Take,[48][49][50][51] would be a twice weekly podcast series featuring film and television reviews, with the Take 2 podcast being exclusive to subscribers.
People
Somethin' Else's board is Jez Nelson, Steve Ackerman (MD), Paul Burdin (FD) and Ben Kerr.[52] The chairman is Tom Barnicoat[53] (former COO at Endemol group) and Jon Wilkins (founder of Naked) and Lindsey Clay (CEO Thinkbox) are non-executive directors.[54]
Selected projects
Radio and podcasts
Where There’s A Will There’s A Wake, with Kathy Burke
BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix (BBC Radio 1), 1993–present
The weekly audio edition of The Economist – In 2014, editor John Micklethwait claimed that German President Angela Merkel listens to the audio edition in her car[56]
Immersive Oculus Rift experience for the South African Tourist Board[73]
Awards
Somethin' Else has won Cannes Lions, eight BAFTA awards and multiple Sony Radio Academy Awards. They were awarded Children's Company of the Year award in the 2013 and 2015 Children's BAFTAs. In 2016, the agency also won a Marketing Week award for 'Most Compelling Content' for their game Silverpoint for Absolut Vodka, and a Broadcast Digital Award for Best Social Media Campaign for its work on the BRIT Awards.