He said that these “media hubs” should not antagonize the likes of NBCUniversal’s E! network (home to “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”), Sirius XM Radio (Mr. Stern’s home since 2006) and Sony Music Entertainment (Tyler, the Creator’s label). “We are well aware that current business deals exist, and we respect them,” Mr. Braun said.

The Kardashians, for instance, will continue to make their cable show, and Mr. Stern may renew his expiring contract with Sirius. “Done right, we are going to show how premium artists who want to control their media life and engage directly with their audiences can work synergistically with traditional media, resulting in a better business for everybody,” Mr. Braun said this month.

Image Kim Kardashian Credit... Kevin Wolf/Invision, via Kevin Wolf, via Invision, via Associated Press

Still, this is unproved territory. Among the many things that could go wrong: Fans could quickly tire of endless à la carte payments, which have a way of adding up in a hurry. Mr. Braun’s plans require a real dedication over the long term from the celebrity participants. And some analysts point out that demand may be much less than anticipated; millions of followers on Twitter do not guarantee millions or even thousands of subscribers.

But Richard Greenfield, a media analyst at BTIG Research, said that Whalerock’s business was threatening to traditional programmers. “For the artists who have the chutzpah to break free of the traditional models, there is a huge opportunity,” he said, especially while there are still relatively few direct-to-consumer channels being offered.