Vikram Parthan is a musician himself, having played guitar for bands like Quasar and Grubby Halo, and knowing that a very small percentage of talented people in the country get recognised at a national level, decided to launch a website called Gigsy.
A subscription-based website/app, Gigsy allows creators and artistes to upload their work online and give both existing fans and interested followers a chance to follow their work, with videos of performances and masterclasses.
But what’s in it for the subscribers? Turns out that the platform’s latest version has introduced a bunch of rewards, merchandise, ticket sales and more.
As the year-old platform readies to launch Gigsy Gatherings soon – a series of meet-greet sessions for the creators themselves – we caught up with Parthan. Excerpts:
What’s the USP of the platform?
The USP of the platform is that we do not act as middlemen as is the case with most other platforms. Creators can control the price and then offer rewards that appeal the most to their fans.
Gigsy has helped creators, coaches and solopreneurs with online content, and also events, and it is also free to be used. We only charge them a five per cent commission when a transaction happens; the rest is for the creators.
What are the biggest advantages for subscribers?
Creators who make money, are more committed to re-invest to create better content. Gigsy provides subscribers a means to become a part of a creator’s inner circle and enjoy exclusive content.
How much has the platform evolved from the first day to now?
When we were building the initial versions of the platform, we sat through creating, editing and uploading content and doing marketing for the content all on our own, in collaboration with the creators.
This meant that even before the creator side of the platform was ready, we were actually helping creators make money by letting fans buy their content, and attend their workshops and events. With the creator-side platform built to scale, we are now building better tools and features for creators and subscribers to build long-lasting relationships directly.
What are the requirements for qualification?
Every creator goes through a review process when they set themselves up on Gigsy.
We review their details and their offerings before approving them on the platform, and in many cases even help them refine it.
We want everyone to be a creator, but they need to be able to define their offerings clearly to the subscribers.
In a subscription model, creators need to be able to demonstrate and provide value to their subscribers month after month. It is by no means an easy task, but it is enjoyable because the creator chooses to do what they love.
Are you impressed with the content so far?
From our early days, we have been lucky. Since creators do not pay anything to set up their online presence and earn, they can afford to be experimental. Content and offerings, in general, are always improving.
Better incomes help creators provide better quality. It is a virtuous cycle built within the system.
We do interact with content creators directly and are bringing in systems to collaborate with them on a larger scale.
Available soon on Google Play and ITunes.