Odd Future leader Tyler, The Creator is hoping to revive the dead "music television" formula with a new online venture. Joining other celebrities such as Howard Stern and the Kardashians, he has joined with Whalerock Industries, a Santa Monica based company creating content for the channels that the stars have their names attached to. Tyler, along with his manager Christian Clancy, have been behind a number of groundbreaking independent deals for the Odd Future family, and this is yet another brave step for the team. Clancy tells the New York Times that "[he] would rather be a guinea pig than spend [his] career rearranging the chairs on the Titanic," speaking bluntly about the risk involved with the move.
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Tyler seems excited about it as well, as he spoke candidly about it at the Code/Media conference in Las Vegas. In the clip, he speaks candidly about the look of the attendants by calling their appearance "weird," while describing his network and partnership with Whalerock head honcho Lloyd Braun (who he affectionately calls a "old white guy"). Tyler's claims that he wants to make a new Cartoon Network or MTV are exciting but also worrying. The subscription model created by Whalerock could be problematic, and with services like Netflix and Hulu doing the heavy lifting for movies and TV—do consumers have the money for yet another service? Whalerock and Tyler are hoping that the promise of more creativity and freedom will draw subscribers, even if the advent of online television networks is relatively untested. The general of Odd Future is unbothered by the risks though, saying that "I wanted to do something cool. It’s always about me doing something that I think is awesome.” Consider us reassured. Watch the clips above.
