LOS ANGELES - Sean “Diddy” Combs knows his way around the small screen - whether he’s launching reality competitions, starring in music videos or doing guest spots on dramas. But the hip-hop mogul’s next TV endeavor, his own lifestyle cable network called Revolt, which debuts this fall, is his most ambitious.
Q. How long had you been working on developing a network?
A. When MTV stopped playing music videos, it created a huge cultural hole.
If you want to find out something about sports, you can go to ESPN. If you want news, you can go to CNN or Fox. If you want to find out about music now you have to go to the Internet. When I was coming up as an artist, I had a platform; at least I had a chance to perform on BET, MTV, Soul Train. Having Don Cornelius or Dick Clark - or Ed Sullivan back in the day - court you as something to look out for, that’s what you aspired to do.
We are living in a great time right now where this millennial generation has decided they are going to take their independence and entrepreneurship into their own hands and start making their own videos and records and distributing them. We need music to be covered and reported with a level of journalistic integrity.
Q. What makes Revolt different from what’s out there already?
A. This is a multi-platform venture. We will simultaneously be on all screens. One of the things I’m most excited about is helping the future of music. When we lost that platform from other outlets and shows, that left a gaping hole in the culture. We plan on filling that hole and being a trusted authority.
Q. The gift (and curse) of social media is speed. How will a network born in the social media age keep up?
A. What will be consistent is every half-hour we will have a live news break, so we can report in real time about what’s going on in the world of music. There’s so much that happens, but there’s not always a place for it to be reported. When Michael Jackson passed away, I turned to MTV, and because it wasn’t live or set up that way, they were playing reality shows and I couldn’t tell if the news was real. I had to turn to TMZ and CNN, and there’s something a little off about that.
Style, Pages 47 on 06/30/2013