Ray J, a familiar face in the entertainment industry, has launched a new streaming service called Tronix. He joined TheStreet to discuss his journey as an entrepreneur, his advice to creators and how his network fits into the streaming business at large.
Related: How Ray J plans to build a reality TV empire with new venture
Full Video Transcript Below:
CONWAY GITTENS: All right, so, Ray J, entrepreneur, music producer, a social media King, let's call you. Thank you for coming to TheStreet.
RAY J: Thank you, man. I'm I'm humbled. So humbled. I'm excited. Like, this is what it's all about. You know, you work hard, and then you come to this place that you see on TV, on all the movies, and now you're here. Wow God is good.
CONWAY GITTENS: So, Tronix network, you're the CEO, you're a new streaming service. It's almost about three months old now. Yeah so how are you finding the streaming media business?
RAY J: This is the business to be in, especially for us, because we target an audience that we specialize in doing the best content for. And we're in our own bubble. But what's good is that I don't call myself the CEO because I'm like the founder. My goal is to find the right CEO, find the right CFO, COO, and more importantly, the CMO. And so it's in its beginning stages, but I like to build it up for about six to eight months. And then start to do the right hire, because that's the only way to build it and put the right structure in.
CONWAY GITTENS: And why streaming media. Because the media business is not that great right now. Yeah, I mean, cable subscribers are down, the streamers are all competing for one another. So why get into that space of the business?
RAY J: Well, it's good for us because I wouldn't call our content well, I would call our content high, high drama. I use ratchet in the word because it gives you the exact definition of what it is. But there's only a few people who are proud of this kind of content that we do. So we're already in our own lane. We just have to stay consistent. And if we do want to evolve into what the bigger streamers are doing, then we would start doing scripted and, you know, big budget movies. But right now, we're just solely into this loud reality world. We have a reality factor.
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CONWAY GITTENS: So for the uninitiated, yeah, I know what ratchet means, but for them, what is ratchet?
RAY J: It's dramatic, it's loud, it's over the top. You know, it's drama constantly. But in our shows we do have a story arc that leads you to something positive or something inspirational or thought provoking. So I think that's what separates us from the other guys who are doing the same thing we are. Tronix cares about the talent because I'm talent and I'm looking at myself as a reality star and all the things I went through and I said, once we are in control, I'm going to make it different, make it fun, and make sure that everybody that works with us can experience the deal on the back end. You know, they always say the deal is better on the back end.
CONWAY GITTENS: So how are you finding it on the back end? I mean, there was a time when content was king, right. But then we had all these streamers and so now content, I mean, there were so many places for it to go. How are you finding getting content. Are you finding the content that you want?
RAY J: Yeah, well, we're producing the content. You know, it's all us from scratch and our partners at Viacom. I love BET. I love VH1. I'm still in business with the linear networks. And so our skills to me go far beyond that because we can be more risky on streaming. So you just get it uncut. But I just nobody does TV like us.
CONWAY GITTENS: So Tronix costs, what, 5.99 a month. 4.99 a month. Does it make sense to become part of a bundle. Now we're hearing like streamers are trying to team up. Yeah so does it make sense for Tronix given your demographic to team up, and what would you look for in a partner?
RAY J: Well, I think the goal I'm 100% bootstrapped and that's the scariest thing is to just put all your money into something, and you're waiting for a profit and it takes time. I think the bigger goal for me in all of these streaming platforms is to give everybody who's at their top level of reality their own platform. And then if everybody has their own bubble and their own network skewing to what their fans want to see, then you bundle the whole package of the team, right. So you build every network from the ground up.
CONWAY GITTENS: And what does success look like for you? I mean, streamers are notorious for not giving out subscriber numbers. Yeah, right. And so I'm not asking you for your subscriber numbers-
RAY J: What's crazy is that the people who do that are hiding what they got to pay, right. We're closing in and we're only in three months, probably about 20,000 subscribers. And these are loyal subscribers. And now with our new back end system and the deals that we're going to offer now, you'll see a big spike. But even then, all of my partners, I'm super transparent. It's not about me making money off of everybody else's demise. It's about taking the drama, partnering with us, and we all win together.
CONWAY GITTENS: So you're not just a reality star. You are also an entrepreneur. You've had a number of tech gadgets on the market. Can you talk to us about how what you learned in the tech world, the tech gadget world, how that translates to what you're doing in the streaming world?
RAY J: Well, I started in the tech business about a decade ago with my scooters Scooty bike, and I was probably the biggest risk I ever took because the wholesale prices on one bike was like $400, $500, and I gave away like 300 or 400 bikes to all the big celebrities. And that was just through our marketing funnel, which worked. Fast forward to Raycon, and I want to shout out to Ray Lee. I want to shout out to Mr. Lee. Those guys really helped me learn the difference between a really over-the-top high, high retail price for a product like an Apple computer is $1,000. The scooter was $1,200. And so we came up with new products that I think fit our demo $79.99, $69.99 for the earbuds. And that's when I started to learn the difference. And then our CMO out of Hong Kong, he really stamped how to do performance marketing. And so now we're here. I don't have to do any more hardware. All of my shares are sold back to the company. I love you, Raycon Thank you for letting me just venture off into what I love to do. And those two companies, I'm 2 for 2 and now taking it to the content. We don't have to ship anything to anybody. We don't have to get, you know, returns. So producing content and building a community to me is just where I live. And so I'm just happy that I'm doing this 24/7 now.
CONWAY GITTENS: So you juggle, yeah, a lot of balls, right. And so in terms of productivity, how do you keep all the balls in the air and focus on what you need to focus on so that you get all the stuff done that you need to get done?
RAY J: Well, it's tough. I mean, I'm just extremely hands on. You know, as you can see, we've been working since 6:00 AM it's the air conditioner is on. I'm still hot. It's a massive like it's just the groundwork we have to put in building the company. It's unmatched and we love doing it. So at times it gets stressful. My mom helps me. I got a strong team, my business manager, my small squad, we just through the ups and downs, we just have to fight through it. You know, everything is not going to be good starting this new company right after selling my shares. I mean, we started the next week of launching it and I haven't even took a vacation. So we're, we're, we're drained, but we're happy that we're here. And I think you know, when we get over the mountain, we'll see something positive - success. I don't really know what that is because I don't celebrate it. I don't celebrate a win. I just we have to keep going because that's just know, that's just our motto. We just don't celebrate.
CONWAY GITTENS: So what. Because we're a business channel, right. What does Ray J do when it's all becoming too much. You got all these business calls, all these business meetings, all these different things. You're flying here and there. You know, for people who are watching us, who want to be entrepreneurs, who want to, you know, be brand ambassadors and all those kind of things, what kind of advice do you give to them. What do they do when it seems like it's becoming too much?
RAY J: I think you just take a day off. You take a day off, you cut your phone off, you chant however, you meditate, and you got to get back to it. I mean, either you're going to quit or you're going to go through it. And I'm like $7 million of my own money and maybe I'm working too hard, you know, maybe I need to drink more water, you know, so we don't sweat as much when we're out hustling. But if we're not sweating, we're not working hard enough.
CONWAY GITTENS: And where does this drive come from, where does this entrepreneurial spirit come from?
RAY J: I think it's just survival. And we have probably the best funnels in marketing, right. If we market something, I can almost guarantee you we'll hit our number, you know, so we under-promise, overdeliver and just work through it, man, and, and work through it. It's been a really rough year for us as far as our time and how much time we've been putting into this project. So it's good, though. We're here. We here, baby. We made it to the top. What's up, mom. Top of the world.
CONWAY GITTENS: Tell me right here. What in your view, makes a great business leader. And what makes you a great business leader?
RAY J: I think you got to be patient with everybody. There's going to be a lot of emotion. There's going to be a lot of I don't want to do it anymore. I'm done. Some of the conflicts might be I'm not getting paid enough. Whatever it is through the staff, you have to listen to the staff. You have to listen to your team. You have to make them feel good. You have to have fun. Fun drives the success for us. And if it's not fun, then we can't be a part of it. It has to be fun, even through the problems is fun.
CONWAY GITTENS:What are the similarities and the differences between Raycon and Tronix?
RAY J: The difference between Raycon and Tronix. It's a streaming platform versus hardware, and Raycon now is going into home products. And I love the way we, we project and we pre-plan for three or four years ahead. And then the streaming world is like almost live in action. So as long as we produce the best content our fans are going to come support, you know, we'll bring three million fans from the other streaming platform we helped out VH1, but my real goal is to be the funnel for everything Viacom, when they want to move into another, I don't know, style of producing. If they want to go murder mysteries, then bring all the content to Tronix. So I want to be the hub for all things in this space.
CONWAY GITTENS: Yeah so we're all being inundated with social media influencers and brand creators. So I want your advice to people who are trying to create brands. How do you fly above or set yourself apart?
RAY J: Well, I think I'm looking at all the influencers and I'm looking at all the tastemakers or the branders. They're waiting for advertising dollars to come in. They're producing a bunch of content and waiting to get it checked from either YouTube or these other platforms, but they don't know what they're getting. They don't know if it's going to be 100 grand or 20 grand or two grand. So they can't scale what's coming in because they don't think about it like that. And I think if they focus on the subscription based platform where you're actually charging your community or the people who support you, just a small fee to come into your world and then you implement the subscriber to be in your world forever, whether the coins are utility coins or you're activating them to come be with you four times a year, whatever it is, it's about the subscriber. And I think if you focus on that and you focus on the subscription base, then you won't be doing so much content. You get 10 million views. And probably I don't know what you get back from that, but if you take that and do a subscription fee monthly and you make sure the subs are getting their money's worth, that's the way to go. And then you implement advertising. But I don't think that, you know, you should solely rely on YouTube or these other platforms to pay you for your time. That you spent this month. I think that your time is worth way more. And I think the subscription base with the people who support you, you'll just see a whole different number and a whole different way of being successful and making money if they implemented that.
CONWAY GITTENS: So you go to YouTube to build your base and then switch over to a subscription model?
RAY J: Either way, it's just I don't think that there's a bunch of artists that I see at the top level and you go down to it has Linktree or something where you have all your, your, your, your content in one place for free. And people go live all day for free. People want a million views, but then they're waiting, where is my money? Like, you don't know what it is. So I think just building a subscription based structure, starting out or coming back to it, if you have a base, is the only way to control and to scale your empire.
CONWAY GITTENS: So you think I mean, social media started on this idea of free. So you think now it's changing so that it's going to a more of a subscription model.
RAY J: Well, I think it's all about what you're offering them. It's all about how big the content is, how long it is, you know, what is it if you're going all out and you're putting out stuff that has great production, super high quality, it's super funny. It's super viral, it's long enough for a subscriber to be happy and it's consistent then that I would think that would be the only way. If it's just FaceTime promo, it's different. So I think if you're really building your empire around great content, it's inevitable or it's the only way, in my opinion, to go with subscription.
CONWAY GITTENS: Talk to me about the bounce back. I mean, your social media star people watched rises and falls for people who have made mistakes, missteps, forced errors. How do you bounce back?
RAY J: Well, you never bounce out. You bounce. You go further in like I did a show called verses and it was me, Bobby Valentino, Pleasure p and Sammy. And we were battling. I did the worst job I've ever. It was the worst, right. The vocals were at an all time high of bad, but I embraced it. And it became entertaining. And you started to enjoy it through the problem. So I think if you're always transparent with your mistakes and you're sincerely like apologetic and they can feel that, that's life, you know, it's recognizing what it is. And also every year or every time you lose, you learn and you make adjustments. You can't keep doing the same. You can't do the same wrong over and over. You're just you're going to bury yourself. So when you make a mistake, it's not a mistake. It's a lesson. Make the adjustments immediately and you'll continue to really climb. And that's how I've done everything. I watch Love and Hip hop through the seasons, and I was like, dude, this dude is horrible. Or I said some crazy stuff. And so I know what to do for myself because I can watch it. So that's why I really appreciate Love and Hip Hop, because it was my own self watching my old self. And I was able to make adjustments without anybody giving me advice because I could see it.
CONWAY GITTENS: What's your next endeavor? What's next for Ray J?
I think we built these. We built these streaming networks, and then I'm done. I'm almost done. I'm 43. I'm almost out. My bones hurt, you know. I mean, it could be snowing. And we work. I'll be still sweating, you know what I mean. Because we've been working so hard. My body's tired. I'm really, like, 73. There's no way. You know what I mean. And if I keep going like this, I don't know if bodies can handle this, right. We stay up for days trying to make sure we execute and meet our deadlines. So I think after this, this run is my last run.
CONWAY GITTENS: And so you're here on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with me. Tell me, what does this represent to you? What does this, and for a man of color?
RAY J: Yeah, it you know, it's I don't like to get emotional, but this kind of stuff gets me emotional because this shows how hard we've been working. And for you guys to bring us in and recognize what we're doing is it's I'm speechless and I'm humbled and I appreciate it. It makes us work harder. All the manifestation that we've been doing, you know, leads us to a place like this. It's mind blowing. And it makes us work harder. And it's tough. It's tough out here, especially when you have your company and you have a board and you built it from the ground up. And now certain decisions have to go through a board. And so you have to learn that business, understand that it's business, and really continue to push through with the same style of language, with the same spunk, with the same creativity mindset that you are, who you really are. Embracing that and going in with that is how we all elevate. So you don't have to switch it up, stay. You stay lit, go in. If you're over prepared, you're good when you're over prepared you know, like I don't give - you know, because I'm over prepared. I'm on time. I'm ready. And you have to do that. And throughout all the problems, just stay cool. Stay professional.
CONWAY GITTENS: Great Ray J, reality star, music producer and entrepreneur. Thank you for coming on TheStreet.
RAY J: Thank you, man. Everybody subscribe to Tronix T-r-o-n-i-x Network love.
