It comes after a leaked Metropolitan Police database named 32 drill and rap music videos hosted by the former BBC radio star's channel that could incite violence
DJ TIM Westwood's controversial YouTube channel which has been blasted for promoting violent gang videos could have raked in up to £1.9million, experts have claimed.
Since January 2007, CapitalXtra DJ Westwood, 60, the son of a bishop, has had over 375million views on more than 1,000 rap videos on his channel.
TimWestwoodTV also has 687,464 subscribers and experts claim video makers on YouTube can earn as much as $7 (£5.28) per 1,000 views.
The video platform does not reveal details of the amount it pays out to makers and neither YouTube nor Westwood would confirm what the DJ's channel makes, but industry experts claim it could be as much as £1.9million based on current rates.
News of the potential worth of Westwood's channel come after a leaked Metropolitan Police database named 32 music videos hosted by the former BBC radio star's channel that could incite violence.
YouTube is believed to have removed some of the videos that were flagged but The Sun found others that are still accessible which boast of gun and knife violence and show men in balaclavas apparently threatening others.
In one 2015 video by J Hus, Mo Stack, the group reference carrying knives with the lyric: “Pedal back big shank by my testicles.”
In the same video, a rapper says: "I'll leave my shank in your eardrum", and in another video rap group Youngs Teflon, Mucky, Mental K & Scribz say: “I can't let another man get the better of me. F*** the judge and f*** the jury.”
And in another track by the rap group NSG, a rapper - who appears to hold his hand like a gun to the camera - says: “My jab could be deadly…Witness a murder, you can get kissed on the lips with a burner.”
He later adds: “So man go to the rave with a blade… I’ll break him in half.”
One aspiring rapper who was murdered in London this year had starred on Westwood’s channel.
Rhyhiem Barton, 17, who was part of Moscow17 drill crew was the 62nd person to be killed in the capital this year.
Anti-gang campaigner Sheldon Thomas accused Westwood of being "irresponsible" by giving a platform to rappers encouraging violence.
He told The Sun: "Tim Westwood knows the impact he's having but pretends he doesn't, because he enjoys the lifestyle it makes for him.
"Gangs are deliberately using these videos to attract new members.
"Impressionable kids from all walks of life end up watching them and getting recruited because they show off a certain lifestyle that is very appealing - not just the money side of it, but the togetherness of the groups."
YouTube hosts adverts alongside the videos on its platforms and passes a percentage of the money from the advertising companies onto the video creators.
It is not known how long the YouTube rates have been in place and if they were the same when Westwood's channel launched, but one UK social media source who asked not to be identified said the £1.9million figure was likely "spot on".
Another expert, Misi McClelland, senior vice president, of top US social media agency Ignite, said figure was "on the low-side."
Miss McClelland, whose company specialises in social media marketing for firms such as Warner Bros, Body Shop and Nike, added: "The amount some YouTube performers get from adverts from cost-per-view can often be more than $7 (£5.28) per 1,000 views.
"There are different benchmarks. But someone with as many subscribers as him you could expect it to be more."
Internet marketing expert Matt Thorpe also claimed the real figure could "well be more".
He said: "He has a huge audience - that is a powerful thing with advertising revenue online.
"The traffic and views are there on his page, so there is certainly a lot of money to be made. He is a brand."
Details of the exact amount have not been revealed and Westwood's most recent Companies House records for his firm Justice 360 show the DJ had total equity of £71,102 when they were last filed in 2017. It does not appear that any YouTube revenue contributed to this figure.
News of the potential worth of Westwood's channel comes after a leaked Metropolitan Police database named 32 music videos hosted by the former BBC radio star's channel that could incite violence.
Met chief Cressida Dick has warned that gangs who goad rivals through rap videos could provoke violence “within minutes".
Britain’s knife and gun epidemic this year has resulted in more than 70 people murdered in the capital alone.
Metropolitan police Detective Superintendent Mike West said: "The Met have been monitoring the increase in the number of videos that incite violence since September 2015.
"The Met has got a central database of more than 1,400 indexed videos that we assess and use to gather intelligence. Where we can, we will take action against individuals appearing in them."
Westwood hosted the BBC Radio 1 Rap Show for 20 years until 2013.
A spokeswoman for Tim Westwood said: “The YouTube channel is a non-profit outlet committed to supporting people pursue their aspirations and dreams as music artists.
"We aim and hope to provide opportunity and a positive path to those who might otherwise have no other platform for their creative talents.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there is no payment or fee to feature on TimWestwoodTV. The freestyle sessions operate at a loss, as they do not cover the production cost of making each video.
“We do not accept that TimWestwoodTV YouTube channel is responsible for the violence in London. The channel has been in operation for over a decade - well before the sad and tragic surge in crime.
"Music and artistic expression cannot be blamed for what is clearly the product of wider social issues in the capital.
“We will support any initiative that would stop the violence.”
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