Should famous music and Hollywood artists have their own media outlet?

In 2014, former Major League Baseball player Derek Jeter launched a media company with a novel premise. Called The Players’ Tribune, it’s a sports site that’s produced and written by pro athletes themselves.

Many wondered if this would result in what are essentially bland, rewritten press releases that would be typed up by publicists, but in its few years of existence, The Players’ Tribune has produced some astoundingly raw first-person journalism. In 2017, for instance, NBA player Isaiah Thomas wrote about the gut-wrenching pain he felt when the Boston Celtics decided to pawn him off on another team. Kevin Durant used the site to announce his move to Golden State. While not every article at the Players’ Tribune is Pulitzer-worthy, it certainly has brought forth pro athlete perspectives that you won’t find anywhere else.

Could the same idea work for famous musicians, artists, directors, and actors? Several years ago, a record label owner named Ian Wheeler launched a publication called Talkhouse, and it’s essentially The Players’ Tribune, but for artists instead of athletes

I recently interviewed Wheeler about Talkhouse and whether famous Hollywood and music artists actually need their own media outlet.