William Ray Norwood Jr. also known as Ray J, joins Rosemarie Miller on “New Money” to discuss his new reality TV network, Tronix Network, his current financial situation and how much money a tour with Brandy and Monica could potentially earn.
00:00 Introduction
0:31 How And Why Ray J Started Tronix
2:12 How Much Money Did Ray J Put Into Tronix
4:59 Ray J's Plan For Tronix
10:26 What Is "Ratchet TV"
12:50 How Ray J Uses His Persona For Business
16:52 Ray J On Brandy And Monica
18:40 Ray J On Learning From Failure
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00:00 Introduction
0:31 How And Why Ray J Started Tronix
2:12 How Much Money Did Ray J Put Into Tronix
4:59 Ray J's Plan For Tronix
10:26 What Is "Ratchet TV"
12:50 How Ray J Uses His Persona For Business
16:52 Ray J On Brandy And Monica
18:40 Ray J On Learning From Failure
Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
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Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
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PeopleTranscript
00:00 Losing and understanding how to get better is the name of it.
00:06 If you can't make adjustments after you mess up, you do the same thing over and over, then you're done.
00:10 Hi everyone and welcome to New Money where we talk to movers and shakers about how they made it.
00:19 I'm your host, Rosemary Miller, here with actor, singer, producer, reality TV star, and so much more, Ray J.
00:28 Thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you for having me.
00:30 So Ray J., we're here to talk about your new TV network, Tronics Network.
00:36 So for starters, how did you even come up with that name?
00:42 I remember there was a time when you wanted to be referenced as Tron, right?
00:46 Yeah, well I'm still working on the paperwork, but hopefully by the beginning of '25 I'll be Tron, and it's just Tron, change my name.
00:54 And it'll probably be temporary for like five years until I understand where we're going, but I feel like it's necessary.
01:04 But you can call me whatever you want.
01:06 Okay.
01:07 What inspired you to create Tronics Network?
01:13 So we started doing reality TV right when it first started, and everybody had their own way, their own lane.
01:24 We focused on dating, we focused on ensemble shows.
01:29 I got a chance to work with WE tv, BET, VH1, MTV, and we just kept fleshing out big shows.
01:38 And then we went to the OTT side and we worked with Zeus Network and we gave them exactly what they needed to start their engine and be successful today.
01:50 Which shows like The Conversation, which shows like One More Chance and Baddies.
01:53 And at that point I was just like, okay, I think we have enough POCs.
01:58 I think we know what to do.
02:00 We just have to now put all of our money up and go for what we believe in.
02:05 And so eventually that's what I did.
02:08 And that's a pretty scary thing.
02:11 I imagine.
02:12 Yeah.
02:13 So I have to ask, how much money did you put up?
02:16 Well, my first wave was like a million five.
02:19 And then I made some money and I got it and I went, if I go all in, then I'll have everything I need with no money, but everything I need.
02:30 Like I have it.
02:32 And also I'm not going to even lie, like the loan that I was getting, I thought it was just a total different kind of loan.
02:41 And I just misunderstood it.
02:45 So I ended up spending all of it thinking that I had some more left.
02:50 Right.
02:51 And so I was just a little weird.
02:53 I was being humble like that and having two months to survive the times of life, just life, was definitely something I think I needed.
03:03 So you practice on being frugal and practice on being realistic with the money.
03:10 So what was this time period?
03:13 You had two more months?
03:15 This just happened.
03:16 This just happened.
03:17 I mean, everything I'm saying to you happened two weeks ago.
03:21 So you put all of your money into Tronics Network?
03:24 Yeah, not knowing that it was all of it because I was misunderstood on the actual credit line deal.
03:32 And you have, like I said, you have $3 million, so I'm going to go get a loan for $3 million.
03:38 And you use the $3 million for collateral.
03:40 I'm thinking you have the $3 million, you get $3 million.
03:43 Once you're done with the $3, you still have the $3 as backup until whatever terms of the interest rates of the monthly is over.
03:52 I didn't know that the $3 that you used for collateral is all you had.
03:57 Yeah.
03:58 You know, and so that was mind-blowing.
04:03 And it was cool, though.
04:06 I picked myself up, and we went to Vegas, and we just worked it through.
04:10 Shout-out to Stefan Kalasor, my boy Truth.
04:14 He helped me pull that off.
04:17 And I wish Raycon nothing but the best.
04:19 I needed this in order to advance in life as just somebody in control of my own destiny and in control of a space that we dominate in.
04:31 Like, technology's a rough space for us to survive the times and get over that hump and sell 3 million earbuds.
04:38 It's a great thing, but it's so dangerous.
04:43 I've never had outside investors in any of our projects.
04:46 I don't know what it feels like for somebody to say, "I like what you're doing.
04:49 I'm going to give you $20 million to do what you do."
04:52 Never had that happen.
04:54 I don't know what that feels like.
04:55 Have you ever gone after that?
04:57 Never gone after it either.
04:59 What is your plan for making Tronics Network successful?
05:03 Well, I mean, we're already pre-live, right?
05:06 So I let everybody know yesterday.
05:09 And the response we got, I mean, everybody posted it.
05:13 It was kind of like a mayhem run.
05:15 And you look at the numbers, you look at the subscribers, you go, "Wow, we haven't even shown them a show yet," you know?
05:20 And so I've always knew that this was our space.
05:24 Looking at the numbers now, and our first day and our 25th, we'll be dropping all the episodes Monday biweekly for each show.
05:33 And we have seven or eight shows coming.
05:36 I think they're going to be proud.
05:37 They're going to be enthused.
05:39 And it's looking exactly how I saw it.
05:42 And so for me, I always say, you know, we've got five to ten years strong.
05:46 I think this could jump faster, but you still need to keep a consistent growth, make sure the churn rate is low, and learn it.
05:55 I don't really understand it 1,000% yet like I will once we start looking at the analytics.
06:01 It's fun, man.
06:03 I love this part of the game.
06:06 If you look at Raycon, we were 89% conservative buyer, 2% African-American buyer, you know, at some of those years.
06:14 And so it can get a bit frustrating because you want the culture to, like, be with you as well, you know?
06:22 But you have a different market that is going crazy over the earbuds, and we love the customers first.
06:30 So we have to focus on something totally different from, like, what we do every day.
06:35 And so this gives me a chance to, like, change the wheel again, I would say.
06:42 Ray J., what happens if everything goes left with Tronics Network?
06:51 If you look at the projections and you try to find these disasters that could happen, like, right?
06:59 You put all of these ifs and pros and cons.
07:03 And I look back, and I was trying to tell everybody, and I'm like, I don't see a con in it at all.
07:11 Like, I don't see how we would not--I wouldn't say dominate, but find our area in this space, you know, our other OTT competitors now, which would be ourselves.
07:26 But, like, Zeus Network, and I love Now That's TV, my boy T.
07:30 But the story arcs on these OTTs are lacking, and I think people are kind of fed up with watching a fight but not knowing why, not knowing when, not knowing where, and not knowing, you know, what happened after for us to be inspired or us to learn or be mad.
07:47 Like, it doesn't end anyway.
07:49 It just continuously brings you to this negative space.
07:54 For us, we bring you there, and we bring you here, we bring you into emotions.
07:58 Like, I have, you know, LGBTQ, I mean, some great shows, the Gaygency, the transgender show we have called The Girls Club.
08:06 These--those are the shows that make me cry because of some of the stuff that they've been through.
08:11 And I just, like, turn it off when my friends are around.
08:14 I'm like, stay strong.
08:16 But that's what's important to me.
08:18 And that's why when we release the sizzles, you get the loud sizzle, and then there's an emotional one that follows, just to reassure people that that's not my intention is to just get money.
08:29 Because, you know, the fights will draw in money.
08:32 But why?
08:33 When?
08:34 Where?
08:35 Like, I have a show called The Fight Club, and I really have a really soft spot for one of the fighters.
08:40 Her name is Splits, a.k.a. Kim Carrey.
08:43 And she's just--I flew her in, and she's just such a sweet person.
08:47 And what we're doing with her career after this crazy fight she had, I just told her, I'm like, you know, the fighting is not the goal.
08:56 The goal is to just make everybody great, make everybody producers, make everybody writers, and give you the blueprint on how to do it yourself, you know.
09:03 And that'll take some time.
09:05 I think that's a very promising goal.
09:07 Yeah.
09:08 But, Ray J, you still need money, and you didn't quite answer my question.
09:12 What happens if everything goes left?
09:15 It can't.
09:16 It's impossible.
09:17 It could--three weeks ago or four weeks ago, I would tell you that it went left.
09:23 I would have said, "It's left."
09:25 If you said, "What if everything went off?" I would have said, "It's left right now.
09:28 It's left. It's done. I'm here."
09:31 I'm, like, borrowing money from, like, people and just, you know, just making sure that we do the right thing.
09:36 Because we have this kind of image where doing the wrong thing works, too.
09:41 Yeah.
09:42 But at 43, we've got to have a balance.
09:45 I'm not going to abuse that character that I have in my arsenal.
09:51 It's about just showing how we can be lit, how we can be fun, how we can be aggressive or turnt up, but super professional, overprepared.
10:02 Even if you want to under-promise or over-deliver, that's fine, but just making sure that this image is brought to the attention of professionalism and creativeness
10:13 and something different for any business when you have a strategy partner like me or somebody like me.
10:20 It just adds a different element to the success of a company.
10:25 So let's pivot back to Tronics Network.
10:28 Yes.
10:29 I know you're saying it's going to be like Ratchet TV.
10:32 Well, I like the term "Ratchet" because it gets you straight to the point, right?
10:37 I'm not trying to create this other narrative that brings you into a chaotic space that you would have never got to if somebody was just honest with you, right?
10:48 So we have shows like "The Fight Club."
10:51 I mean, it's just people who are fighting for something, this opportunity.
10:55 Instead of creating another show and then they end up all fighting and you're trying to understand why and the whole thing was for just them to fight,
11:05 it's a good, comedic, refreshing show and "Splits" and "Activated" are the first ones on that show and it's a lot of fights.
11:13 I've battled with that show because we started that show working with another network and I brought it here because all the fighters that fought,
11:22 if I didn't show it, they would have been really like, "What did we do it for?"
11:27 If you're on my network, I don't care about taking the money that I know I owe you.
11:32 I'm going to give you more than what you thought because I'm good and I want to see everybody win and it's a small circle.
11:39 It's going to be a very premium group of people, but I guarantee you I'm the only production team, company, network that when people come on our set,
11:50 they love it, we're having fun. That's rare because when we do our other shows, we're always mad.
11:56 You've got five minutes, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
12:00 So this is a game changer. The wheel spins different and we've spent the wheel.
12:07 I know how to spin a wheel in the industry more than once and fall back.
12:12 I don't need the credit because credit doesn't matter.
12:15 It's the execution and the success that you and whoever you're around, your partners are all knowing that if we bring Ray and his team on, they will execute.
12:25 Now I wish I could run the list down. It'll scare you. You'll have a nightmare.
12:28 You did that too? Oh my God. I'm like the Ray Donovan but in the Ratchet space.
12:34 Okay. Oh my goodness. I'm not going to lie to you.
12:39 I feel like I've kind of met William Ray Norwood Jr. and I'm really interested in him now.
12:49 What do you think the media gets wrong about you?
12:54 They actually have it right on because that's what I give them.
12:58 That's what you give them?
13:00 The media is spot on because that's the character that is needed to drive whatever Ray J is doing.
13:11 But we've reached a peak. It's like Ray J can't really do too much more in that space because it's pretty much done everything as far as the loudness of it.
13:23 So you just kind of retire Ray J coming up and start just focusing on the younger stars and just creating a path for them.
13:31 I think that's where this is going. I might have like six more months of like some crazy Ray J stuff and that's it buddy.
13:38 44, 45 you coming around the corner. That's it. Take the jail. Take the jail. Right.
13:43 Well you've certainly found a way to stay relevant for decades. Okay.
13:47 Yeah. I mean well you know you can't. I never I will never audition for somebody at this point.
13:55 Man after a while I started to feel like all this is just auditions.
13:59 Hoping that somebody on the other side who's going through so much right.
14:05 You don't know. His choice dictates what you do. What you get paid and all that.
14:15 It's intense man. I got I got dropped from the label black bar from the industry and I just moved on to something different.
14:24 And I'll tell you we made 80 million a year for four years with Raycon and 40 before that and eight before that and 100 after that. Right.
14:33 And mostly you wouldn't have the discipline to keep that low key.
14:37 I would have been stunting money phone you know the whole thing and I just don't do that.
14:43 So I know how to play my role. I also know how to like bring it home like for real for real.
14:49 So what do you think got you blackballed from the industry. Nothing. Nothing.
14:53 It's just how the game goes. I love it. I mean blackballed from the music industry in this bubble.
15:00 It's the world is big. That bubble is like this.
15:03 So I dominate here. You come back to this bubble and you see everybody for what they are.
15:08 It's like let's just get to work. Let's work and get right to the consumer.
15:13 They're going to love it. They're going to come for you. That's all you need. Cut the middleman out.
15:19 And sometimes you need money to cut the middleman out.
15:21 You need somebody like me to spark everybody's inspiration to shift the narrative.
15:27 So hopefully it works because I'm not afraid to spend all the money I just got right now.
15:32 Everything. Everything. Because this time I put a lot away for the kids.
15:36 Secured school accounts. I mean I just loaded them up on stuff that I can never touch.
15:43 And then I'm like alright that's it. Now I can spend all of it again.
15:48 If I want to. Should I? I've asked some of my team members. I'm like okay.
15:52 That was scary last time. Like I couldn't even get a soda from the soda machine. It said decline.
15:59 I still have that effect now today because I'm trying to get my cards together.
16:04 I'm trying to move money around. So I'm still having the decline thing happening until hopefully tomorrow.
16:11 And that's just so embarrassing.
16:14 I imagine. It's rough. Have you ever been broke before?
16:18 Never. Not like this. Like nothing. Never.
16:22 A couple hundred thousand and I'm still like yo that's for the family. Savings. So that can be scary.
16:28 But no. Not like that. Not like that.
16:32 But the only reason it happened is because I planned to do everything in the right time.
16:38 And it just rolled over a month later. Right.
16:42 And so I had to just survive the times. And I think everybody needs that.
16:46 So I want to get back to when you said I want a soda just to get to work.
16:50 I've seen you being very adamant about Brandy and Monica going on tour together.
16:56 Is that you just doing that thing where like get to work. Just do it.
17:00 This is going to be something good for you guys.
17:02 Yeah. It's like that's their big bread and butter. That's the guarantee.
17:07 That's where you don't have to go and do anything else right now.
17:10 Just do that tour. Secure your funds and figure it out.
17:14 What else would be bigger and intense and something that I feel they owe the fans. Right.
17:22 And so I saw Monica live and I just started telling her Brandy and Monica.
17:27 You know the tour. I didn't think she saw it all.
17:30 Today. Yesterday they said Monica responded. My heart. I got scared for a minute.
17:34 Like my heart drummed. What she say. And then she was really just saying I haven't seen a contract.
17:38 I haven't seen. So I'm working on that now.
17:41 Like what's funny is that 100 million a piece is light.
17:44 I think that's for the first wave of it. I think they can probably walk away with a quarter.
17:47 Both of them if they did you know an overseas tour too. International tour. Big money.
17:53 Big money. Half up front.
17:55 Wow. So you're really trying to get this in the works.
17:58 You've spoken to both Brandy and Monica about this.
18:01 I haven't talked to Brandy about it yet.
18:02 So Brandy has had. She hasn't weighed in on this at all.
18:05 Well she might. Like I haven't looked at my phone. I haven't looked online. I don't look at comments.
18:11 Like when I'm in the bubble. I'm in the bubble. When I'm ready to promote.
18:14 I put it all on the line and I don't look back. I don't care what nobody thinks.
18:18 Like we have a mission. That's the goal. That's what we have to achieve.
18:21 Once I get there I'll look back and check. Check. Check the progress.
18:25 But I'm not going to not get to the goal.
18:27 Because nobody can win if they don't achieve the goal that they set out for themselves.
18:32 Success comes when opportunity meets preparation. And my mom told me that all the time.
18:36 Well let's talk about a little bit more money.
18:40 We ask this question to everybody who joins New Money.
18:43 What is the smartest and the dumbest purchase you've made since you've had your wealth?
18:49 I don't think I made any dumb purchases.
18:53 I think I made purchases that led me to make an adjustment to not do that purchase again.
18:58 But everything it leads you to becoming better.
19:01 So I do love hip-hop which is a very intense drama show.
19:04 I do this crazy stuff on there. I look at myself and I go wow.
19:07 I'm embarrassed for myself.
19:10 Looking at myself and certain things I'm doing. I have to make adjustments.
19:14 And I think that's what a bad spend, a loss, a real big loss does for you.
19:19 It should make you better. It should make you stronger.
19:22 Because the loss you have. If you've never lost.
19:27 When you do, I hope you're still young.
19:31 Because when it hits you, you don't know what to do.
19:34 You haven't planned for it. You haven't made any adjustments in the past because you've lost.
19:38 So losing and understanding how to get better is the name of the game.
19:45 If you can't make adjustments after you mess up and you do the same thing over and over, then you're done.
19:49 Well AJ, thank you so much for joining me today.
19:51 Thank you.
19:52 [END]