Entrepreneur and lifestyle creator Grace Beverley has co-founded an artificial intelligence (AI) talent agency called Retrograde with tech experts Jake Browne and Gary Meehan, which aims to “democratise the creator industry”.
The company launched on 28 July and supports influencers by managing and responding to their emails, negotiating brand deals, and completing paperwork and invoices.
Although the TALA founder is signed to YMU, Beverley told CORQ: “It just doesn’t make sense for creators to be fighting for the attention of one overworked agent who has more than 20 creators assigned to them. In an industry that’s now existed for more than a decade, there has to be a viable alternative.”
Each creator at Retrograde will have their own dedicated “AutoPilot”, which is an AI-powered talent agent with a unique name, avatar and voice. The agent is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and sends influencers SMS and WhatsApp updates about new brand partnerships. Creators have final approval on all partnerships that their AutoPilot negotiates. If an influencer is not happy with a deal, their AI agent will re-negotiate or decline it.
Browne came up with the idea for Retrograde while at Peblo, the company he founded that instantly provides payment for influencers’ brand deals, which he sold in 2022. At Peblo, he worked with Meehan, a software engineer and the founder of travel app WhereTo AI. Browne told CORQ: “There are now millions of people earning a living creating content and there are not enough talent agents to keep up with the explosion of creators. We hope to bridge the gap.”
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Beverley said that when Browne approached her with the idea for Retrograde “it just felt like exactly what the industry was crying out for”.
The AI agency receives a 10% fee on brand deals, compared to the industry standard of a 20% commission. Browne explained: “We only get paid when a creator gets paid.” In addition to this, Retrograde has a referral programme. According to its website: “Any time the person you refer does a brand deal, we give you 5% from our cut, at no extra cost to them.”
There is no follower requirement for influencers to join Retrograde, but they do need to make an income from brand deals. There is currently a waitlist to join the agency and priority will be granted to creators who are referred by current members.
Consumers are generally sceptical about new technology such as AI. Earlier this month, UK publication SheerLuxe faced backlash for its AI editor Reem and in 2023, Snapchat’s My AI feature was criticised due to safety concerns.
How does Browne think the creator economy will react to Retrograde? “I know a lot of really big creators and agents in the space, some of the best people. Everyone says Retrograde is exactly what is needed. Hopefully, the reaction is more of the same.”
By Caroline Edwards, CORQ news and features writer. Picture credit: Retrograde
