Ray J's jump from the music studio to the boardroom
The musician and entrepreneur joins TheStreet to discuss his newest venture, Tronix
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00:00All right. So Ray J, entrepreneur, music producer, social media king, let's call you.
00:08Thank you for coming to the street.
00:09Oh, thank you, man. I'm I'm I'm humble.
00:12So I'm excited. Like this is what it's all about.
00:15You know, you work hard and then you come to this place that you see on TV, all the movies.
00:19And now you're here. Wow. God is good.
00:21So Tronics Network, you're the CEO of your new streaming service.
00:25It's almost about three months old now.
00:27So how are you finding the streaming media business?
00:29This is the business to be in, especially for us, because we we target an audience that that we specialize in doing the best content for.
00:37And 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.
00:45My goal is to find the right CEO, find the right CFO, COO and more importantly, the CMO.
00:52And so it's in its beginning stages. But I like to build it for about six to eight months and then start to do the right hire.
00:58Because that's the only way to build it and put the right structure.
01:01And why streaming media? Because the media business is not that great right now.
01:05I mean, cable subscribers are down. The streamers are all competing for one another.
01:10So why get into that space of the business?
01:12Well, it's good for us because I wouldn't call our content. Well, I would call our content high, high drama.
01:19I use ratchet in the word because it gives you the exact definition of what it is.
01:23But there's only a few people who are proud of this kind of content that we do.
01:27So we're already in our own lane. We just have to stay consistent.
01:31And 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.
01:38But right now we're just solely into like this loud reality world and we have like a reality factor.
01:44So for the uninitiated. Yeah, I know what ratchet means.
01:48But for them, what is ratchet? It's dramatic. It's loud. It's over the top.
01:52You know, it's it's it's it's drama constantly.
01:55But in our shows, we do have a story arc that leads you to something positive or something inspirational or thought provoking.
02:03So I think that's what separates us from the other guys who are doing the same thing we are.
02:08Tronics 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.
02:14And I said, once we are in control, I'm going to make it different, make it fun.
02:19And make sure that everybody that works with us can can experience the deal on the back end.
02:24You know, they always say the deal is better on the back. So how are you finding on the back end?
02:28I mean, there was a time when content was king. Right. But then we had all these streamers.
02:32So now content. I mean, there was so many places for it to go.
02:36How are you finding getting content? Are you finding the content that you want?
02:42Yeah, well, we're producing the content. You know, it's all us from from scratch.
02:47And our partners at Viacom, I love BT, I love VH1. I'm still in business with the linear networks.
02:54And so our skills to me go far beyond that because we can be more risky on streaming.
03:00So you just get it uncut. But I just nobody does TV like us.
03:06So Tronics costs what? $5.99 a month? $4.99 a month.
03:10Does it make sense to become part of a bundle?
03:14Right. Right now we're hearing like streamers are trying to team up.
03:18Yeah. So does it make sense for Tronics, given your demographic, to team up?
03:23And what would what would you look for in a partner?
03:26Well, I think the goal that I'm I'm 100 percent bootstrapped.
03:29And that's the scariest thing is to just put all your money into something and you're waiting for a profit.
03:35And it takes time. I think the bigger goal for me in all of these streaming platforms is to get everybody who's at their top level of reality.
03:43Their own platform. And then if everybody has their own bubble and their own network skewing to what their their fans want to see,
03:50then you bundle the whole package of the team. Right. So you build every network from the ground up.
03:55And what does success look like for you? I mean, streamers are notorious for not giving out subscriber numbers.
04:03Yeah. Right. And so I'm not asking you for your subscriber numbers.
04:05But no, what's crazy is that the people who do that are hiding what they got to pay.
04:11Right. We're closing and we're only in three months, probably about 20,000 subscribers.
04:16Right. 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.
04:25But even then, all of my partners, I'm super transparent. Like it's not about me making money off of everybody else's minds.
04:31It's about taking the drama, partnering with us. And we all win together.
04:36So you're not just a reality star. You are also an entrepreneur. You've had a number of tech gadgets on the market.
04:43Can 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?
04:54Well, I started in the tech business about a decade ago with my scooters, scooty bike.
04:59And I was probably the biggest risk I ever took because the wholesale prices on one bike is like four hundred dollars, five hundred dollars.
05:05And I gave away like three or four hundred bikes to all the big celebrities.
05:09And that was just through our marketing funnel, which worked fast forward to Raycon.
05:14And I want to shout out to Ray Lee. I want to shout out to Mr. Lee.
05:18Those guys really helped me learn the difference between a really over the top, high, high retail price for a product like Apple computers.
05:27A thousand bucks to scooter was twelve hundred. And so we came up with new products that I think fit our demo.
05:33Seventy nine, ninety nine, sixty nine, ninety nine for the earbuds. And that's when I started to learn the difference.
05:38And then our CMO out of Hong Kong, he really stamped how to do performance marketing.
05:46And so now we're here. I don't have to do any more hardware. All of my shares are sold back to the company.
05:53I love you, Raycon. Thank you for letting me just venture off into what I love to do.
05:58And those two companies, I'm two for two. And now taken into the content, we don't have to ship anything to anybody.
06:07We don't have to get, you know, returns. So producing content and building a community to me is just where I live.
06:15And so I'm just happy that I'm doing this 24 seven.
06:18So you juggle a lot of balls. Right.
06:24And 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?
06:40Well, it's tough. I mean, I'm just extremely hands on. You know, as you can see, we've been working since 6 a.m.
06:46It's the air conditions on. I'm still hot. It's a it's a massive like it's just the groundwork we have to put in building the company.
06:55It's unmatched and we love doing it. So at times it gets stressful.
07:00My mom helps me. I got a strong team, my business manager, my small squad.
07:06We just do the ups and downs. We just have to fight through it. You know, everything is not going to be good.
07:11Starting 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.
07:18So we're we're we're drained, but we're happy that we're here.
07:22And I think, you know, when you get over the mountain, we'll see something positive success.
07:28I don't really know what that is because I don't celebrate it. I don't celebrate a win.
07:32I just we have to keep going because that's just, you know, that's just our motto. We just don't celebrate.
07:37So what does because we're a business channel, right? What does Ray J do when it's all becoming too much?
07:44You got all these business calls, all these business meetings, all the different things you're flying here and there.
07:50You know, for people who are watching us who want to be entrepreneurs, who want to be brand ambassadors and all those kind of things.
07:58What kind of advice do you give to them? What what do they do when it seems like it's becoming too much?
08:05I 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.
08:13I mean, either you're going to quit or you're going to go through it.
08:15And I'm like seven million dollars of my own money in and maybe I'm working too hard.
08:20You know, maybe I need to drink more water, you know, so we don't sweat as much when we're out hustling.
08:25But if we're not sweating, we're not working hard enough.
08:29And where does this drive come from? Where does this entrepreneurial spirit come from?
08:36I think it's just survival. And we have probably the best funnels of marketing, right?
08:42If we market something, I can almost guarantee you we'll hit our number, you know.
08:47So so we under promise, over deliver and just work through it and work and work through it.
08:52It's been a really rough year for us as far as our time and how much time we've been putting into this project.
08:57So it's good that we're here. We're here, right? We made it to the top.
09:02What's up, mom? Top of the world.
09:05Tell me, what in your in your view makes a great business leader and what makes you a great business leader?
09:12I think you've got to be patient with everybody. There's going to be a lot of emotion.
09:15There's going to be a lot of I don't want to do it anymore. I'm done.
09:21Some of the conflicts might be I'm not getting paid enough, whatever it is through the staff.
09:25You have to listen to the staff. You have to listen to your team. You have to make them feel good.
09:29You have to have fun. Fun drives the success for us.
09:33And if it's not fun, then I believe we can be a part of it.
09:37It has to be fun. Even through the problems, it's fun.
09:40What are the similarities and the differences between Raycon and Tronix?
09:46The difference between Raycon and Tronix, it's a streaming platform versus hardware.
09:52And Raycon now is one of the home products.
09:54And I love the way we we project and we pre-plan for three or four years ahead.
10:01In the streaming world, it's like almost live in action.
10:05So as long as we produce the best content, our fans are going to come support.
10:10You know, we'll bring three million fans from the other streaming platform.
10:13We helped out VH1, BET.
10:16My real goal is to be the funnel for everything Viacom when they want to move into another style of producing.
10:25If they want to go murder mysteries, then bring all the content to Tronix.
10:29So I want to be the hub for all things in this space.
10:33So we're all being inundated with social media influencers and brand creators.
10:39So I want your advice to people who are trying to create brands.
10:44How do you fly above or set yourself apart?
10:48Well, I think I'm looking at all the influencers and I'm looking at all the tastemakers or the branders.
10:55They're waiting for advertising dollars to come in.
10:57They're producing a bunch of content and waiting to get it checked from either YouTube or these other platforms.
11:03But they don't know what they're getting.
11:04They don't know if it's going to be 100 grand or 20 grand or two grand.
11:07So they can't scale what's coming in because they don't think about it like that.
11:11And I think if they focus on the subscription based platform where you're actually charging your community or people who support you just a small fee to come into your world.
11:20And 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.
11:31It's about the subscriber.
11:33And I think if you focus on that and you focus on the subscription base, then you won't be doing so much content.
11:40You get 10 million views and probably I don't know what you get back from that.
11:43But if you take that into a subscription monthly and you make sure the subs are getting their money's worth, that's the way to go.
11:51And then you implement advertising.
11:54But 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.
12:03I think that your time is worth way more.
12:05And 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.
12:16So you go to YouTube to build your base and then switch over to a subscription model?
12:21Either way.
12:22It's just I don't think that there's there's a bunch of artists that I see at the top level and you go down to Linktree or something where you have all your content in one place for free.
12:34And people go live all day for free.
12:37People want a million views, but then they're waiting.
12:41Where's my money? Like, you don't know what it is.
12:43So 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.
12:54So you think, I mean, social media started on this idea of free.
12:58So you think now it's changing so that it's going to a more of a subscription model?
13:05Well, I think, well, I think it's all about what you're offering and it's all about how big the content is, how long it is, you know, what is it?
13:11If you're going all out and you're putting out stuff that has great production, super high quality, it's super funny, super viral, it's long enough for a subscriber to be happy and it's consistent.
13:23Then I would think that that would be the only way.
13:26If it's just FaceTime promo, it's different.
13:28So 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 is subscription.
13:37Talk to me about the bounce back.
13:39I mean, you're a social media star.
13:43People watched Rises and Falls for people who are have made mistakes, missteps, forced errors.
13:55How how how do you bounce back?
13:58Well, you never bounce out. Right.
14:01You go further in. Like I did a show called Versus and it was me, Bobby Valentino, Pleasure P and Sammy, and we were battling.
14:09I did the worst job of it. It was the worst. Right.
14:12Vocals were at an all time high of that.
14:16But I embraced it and it became entertaining and you started to enjoy it through the problem.
14:22So 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.
14:33And also every year or every time you lose, you learn and you make adjustments.
14:38You can't keep doing the same. You can't do the same wrong over and over.
14:42You're just going to you're going to bury yourself. So when you make a mistake, it's not a mistake.
14:47It's a lesson. Make the adjustments immediately and you'll continue to to really climb.
14:53And that's how I've done everything. I watch love and hip hop through the seasons.
14:56And I was like, dude, this dude is horrible or I said some crazy stuff.
15:00And so I know what to do for myself because I can watch it.
15:03So that's why I really appreciate love and hip hop, because it was my own self watching my old self.
15:09And I was able to make adjustments without anybody giving me advice because I could see.
15:15What's your next endeavor? What's next for Ray J?
15:19I think we built these we built these streaming networks and then I'm done.
15:23I'm almost done. Forty three. I'm almost out. My bones hurt.
15:26You know, I mean, it could be snowing and we work. I'll be still sweating.
15:30You know what I mean? Because we've been working so hard. My body's tired. I'm really like 73.
15:34There's no way. You know what I mean? And if I keep going like this, I don't know if bodies can handle this.
15:40Right. We stay up for days trying to make sure we execute and meet our deadline.
15:44So I think after this, this run is my last run.
15:47And so you're here on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with me. Tell me what what this is.
15:51What does this represent to you? What does this and and for a man of color?
15:56Yeah. You know, it's I don't like to get emotional, but this kind of stuff gets me emotional because.
16:03This shows how hard we've been working and for you guys to bring us in and recognize what we're doing is.
16:13It's I'm speechless and I'm humbled and I appreciate it makes us work harder.
16:19All the manifestation that we've been doing, you know, leads us to a place like this.
16:24It's mind blowing and it makes us work harder and it's tough.
16:29It's tough out here, especially when you have your company, you have a board and you built it from the ground up.
16:34And now certain decisions have to go through a board.
16:38And so you have to learn that business, understand that it's business and really continue to push through with the same style of language,
16:48with the same spunk you have, with the same creativity mindset that you are, who you really are.
16:55Embracing that and going in with that is how we all elevate.
16:58So you don't have to switch it up. Stay you. Stay lit. Go in.
17:03If you're over prepared, you're good when you're over prepared.
17:07You like I don't give up, you know, because I'm over prepared. I'm on time. I'm ready.
17:12And you have to do that. And throughout all the problems, just stay cool. Stay professional.
17:19Great. Ray J, reality star, music producer and entrepreneur.
17:25Thank you for coming on the show. Thank you, man. Everybody subscribe to Tronics.
17:28T-R-O-N-I-X Network. Love.
17:33Transcribed by https://otter.ai