A Conversation with Todd Smith of Gyroskope – HuffPost 7.18.12
Mike Ragogna: Todd, what is the origin of Gyroskope?
Todd Smith: My background is in the music business, first as an artist, then as a producer and indie label owner, so I basically lived through the transition, from the time when people paid for music to the time when music became free. I’m not down on free; free is great, but eventually, you hit a wall. If nobody ever replenishes the stream, eventually it will dry up. Artists and producers need to make money in order to do what they do, which is bring us music and art and stuff that makes the world a better place. So Gyroskope is a possible solution to the problem of what is the best way for independent content producers to monetize their work, given that the paradigm for digital content consumption has shifted from paid to free?
I think there is a feeling among music fans that, it’s okay to share these files because the artist isn’t going to see any of the money anyway. And you know what, they’re right. I think fans want to support the artists they love, and Gyroskope is built to facilitate that direct transactional relationship. I think there is a feeling among artists that, if I work my ass off and get a hit, why should the guy who owns the pipeline get most of the money? And you know what, they’re right too, and Gyroskope is built for that as well. Gyroskope gets the same small monthly fee no matter how much you sell.
MR: Can you explain what’s its role is with regards to social media?
TS: Gyroskope is built for the social web environment, harnessing that power to work on behalf of the artists and content producers. We have a share player that producers can embed on their Facebook pages that plays previews and pulls fans over to their Gyroskope profiles to complete a purchase. We have relationship tools built-in for producers. For example, YouTube views are sort of anonymous or faceless to the video producer. On Gyroskope, producers can message fans who have purchased their work, to let them know about new titles or just build that relationship. Finally, as a fan, you can use your Facebook or Twitter accounts as your Gyroskope login, so you don’t have to keep track of yet another login, and your friends will see your Gyroskope activity, which will help bring exposure to the artists you support on Gyroskope.
MR: Can you give an example of how this would be useful to someone with, let’s say, a music video?
TS: Yes, if you have created a music video, Gyroskope is going to be your best option to sell that content, versus free sharing sites where you don’t make anything, or e-commerce sites that are going to take a chunk of your sales revenue. So you go tohttps://Gyroskope.com/producer and set up an account quickly and easily. All producer accounts come with a free 14-day trial, so you can try it out and start selling at no cost. Once your account is created, just go to your Media Manager and upload your video; set your title, description, tags, and price, and you are in business. From your producer dashboard, you can grab code to embed into your website or Facebook. You can also track your sales and views, message your customers, etc.
MR: As I understand it, it’s an asset for monetizing for various mediums, such as music, film, athletic programs from schools, anything that uses visual representation. What is the heaviest use at the moment and which areas do you see major growth in the next couple of years?
TS: Gyroskope was originally built for music and entertainment-related content, since that was my background. As a result, most of the current producers on Gyroskope fall into this category. But we have realized that that really is the tip of the iceberg; this platform could be useful for creators of digital content regardless of genre or audience. We are starting to see some educational and instructional content, which I think could be a next wave of innovation in terms of digital delivery of this type of content, and we hope that Gyroskope can play a part in that. We also see non-profit organizations using Gyroskope as another way to take donations. I see us getting deeper into college and high-school sports, digital content distribution for business, virtual tourism… The possibilities are endless.
MR: How do creative artists come on board and how expensive is this?
TS: Gyroskope has three pricing levels for content producers: The basic plan starts at $19 a month; the standard plan is $79 a month; and the premium producer plan is $499 a month, which includes unlimited storage and bandwidth, as well as branded mobile apps and the option to embed the Gyroskope functionality within your own web environment.
MR: There has been a lot of emphasis in the initial phase on music, but how can others monetize their assets using Gyroskope?
TS: Gyroskope is for anybody that needs to sell a video. It might be a music video or your feature film, but it might also be a school play for a fundraiser. It might be a keynote speech at a conference or graduation. It might be a lecture or a virtual tour of an historic landmark. No matter what it is, we want to be the YouTube for independent content producers that need to not only distribute, but also sell their work.
MR: How do you compete with a YouTube that’s free or a Netflix that has an established value for their billing? In other words, why would someone use Gryoskope over other platforms?
TS: Content producers can’t sell their videos through YouTube, so in that sense, YouTube isn’t a competitor. Netflix is more of an aggregator or a middle-man, meaning it’s not really a platform that allows producers to have a direct transactional relationship with their audience. There are some other options, such as Amazon CreateSpace, which can take over half of the sale. In addition, we worked hard to create a high-end user experience for producer and fan. It’s more of a premium environment without ads. For all these reasons, we humbly believe that Gyroskope is the best option.
MR: What’s the next step in gathering more content?
TS: We have been focused on improving the service and creating the best possible experience for producers and fans based on feedback from early users; we are now moving into an aggressive sales and marketing phase, where we will reach out to all types of producers who may be in need of a monetization platform.
Transcribed by Jeffrey Smith