Three entrepreneurs-cum-friends have come up with a unique tool to help artists streamline their presence across platforms and monetise their work – Canvas. The tool is the brainchild of Vignesh Ramaswamy, who has established four startups; artist-storyteller Raghava KK; and Chennai-based lyricist Madhan Karky. From art and painting to podcasting and filmmaking, Canvas allows artists across genres to manage and monetise their work.
To explain how it enables integration, Vignesh explains – let’s take the example of a writer. Conventionally, one would start writing using a tool like Microsoft Word, publish their work using a Content Management System (CMS), and finally move on to social media for better reach and discovery. Canvas enables artists to cut the chase by making all these tools accessible under a single virtual space, he says. “Breaking the funnel of creation, discovery and monetisation that most platforms use for creators, we want creators to think about creation first, followed by monetisation, distribution and then discovery,” Vignesh tells TNM.
“Let it be Karky who uses a paper, or Raghava who uses a blank canvas to start his work, a canvas is a part of every creator’s life,” Vignesh notes, while explaining why the name Canvas was chosen. Speaking about the remunerative opportunities on the platform, Madhan explains, “An artist could either choose to keep their work entirely free or monetise it. But more importantly, it also allows them to partly monetise their content by using the paywall model.” Madhan Karky, who is the Chief Creative Officer of Canvas, adds that artists could also choose to keep their entire work free and ask for voluntary support instead.
Notably, Canvas has embraced cryptocurrency and claims to be the first Indian company to use non-fungible token (NFT) integrations.
Vignesh also highlights that they are likely to incorporate advertising opportunities for users in future. “We are not planning to include advertising possibilities right away. Maybe after we build the discovery engine, we are likely to work towards an advertisement angle that is creator-friendly.”
Meanwhile, Canvas monetises its services by charging a transaction fee of 5-7% every time a creator pushes their content behind the paywall. The revenue model also encompasses providing limited access to features such as storage or block level locking, among others. To gain unlimited access, users can avail monthly or quarterly subscription plans for accessing select features/tools.
With an increase in content consumption over digital platforms during the pandemic, the scope and potential of the passion economy have widened. Reports suggest that the pandemic has also accelerated tech adoption and digital growth. It is in light of these developments that a creator-centric tool like Canvas was conceptualized, developed and introduced within a span of six months. “During the pandemic, we realized creators are becoming aware more active online and aware of the tools available to them. We did not want a platform where creators are treated as a commodity but rather act as a partner by providing the right tools to them. Of course, the COVID-19 situation has acted as a catalyzer, pushing us to bring a concept like this to life and build it faster,” Vignesh states.
Delving deeper into the engagement and analytical metrics that the tool will employ, Madhan explains, “We live in a world where art is constantly measured in terms of numbers. It’s a sad state of affairs. We wanted artists to be free of these numbers such as the number of likes and dislikes, that disrupts their creativity.” Although the platform will be devoid of interaction measurements such as likes and dislikes, the founders explain that Canvas has scope for users to track their reach by allowing integration of tools such as Mailchimp, an email marketing platform providing commercial and marketing tools.
With the help of its intuitive interface, the virtual tool will also help creators monitor logistics and improve management of their profiles. “Probably in the next six months, we will be providing inbuilt analytics through dashboards where users can track their reach and improvise. We will be training the system on identifying how interactions are happening with a creator’s content and make suggestions with the help of intelligent integrations,” Vignesh points out.
“For instance, if your content lacks photo or video graphic material, Canvas would provide insights stating how including a photo or video could increase your views or reach by X percentage,” he adds.
The founders of Canvas explain how its logo, which features a number of buttons placed in a grid, with some of them blurred in the background, represents how the tools allow for granular interactions since artists get to decide how they use the services and the level of interactions they have with viewers.
Canvas will also contain ways for an artist to network with their peers. “The next step is going to be getting collaborators from multiple domains on board, to team up and work together,” states Madhan. He adds that discovery of artists is purely based on the search results. “Discovery will be purely based on what people search rather than us pushing creators through a certain algorithm or on the basis of maximum viewership, remuneration etc. One of the core ideas was to look at things from a creator’s perspective and provide a neutral platform,” Madhan assures.
Canvas is currently operational as an invitation-only tool. “Initially, we are going through a reference system. We invite known creators. We then move on to the second, third and fourth level as they keep inviting. We want to build a creator community first. However, it's open and free for readers. They can sign in and start exploring the content on Canvas right away,” Madhan says.
The tool has been launched with a focus on India, as well as the USA, with Singapore being added as a core market later this year. Canvas will have a global launch by the end of July. “We are having a 24-hour session planned on multiple platforms during the global launch. As of now, we have received over 7,000 invitations from creators, since we rolled out,” Vignesh underlines.
For details, visit the website.