Ashanti Abdullah on Empowering Artists Through Smarter Touring | Ep 1067

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Digital Executive

Episode: Ashanti Abdullah on Empowering Artists Through Smarter Touring | Ep 1067

Host: Brian, Coruzant Technologies
Guest: Ashanti Abdullah, Founder and CEO of Turnwheel
Release Date: May 26, 2025

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Overview

This episode centers on how Ashanti Abdullah is transforming the live music industry for artists via her company, Turnwheel. The discussion dives into how touring is now the primary source of income for musicians, the complications they face on the road, and how Turnwheel enables artists to not only survive but thrive financially by simplifying tour management.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Pain Points in Touring & Origins of Turnwheel

[01:06]

• Ashanti built Turnwheel after nearly 20 years of managing artists and repeatedly seeing them return from tours with less money than expected due to unforeseen expenses.
• Key observation: Lack of real-time financial modeling and communication hindered profitability.
  • Quote: “There are so many opportunities for us to come home with a few more dollars than we did, but we wouldn’t know that until the end of a tour... There’s gotta be a way to model this out in real time.” (Ashanti Abdullah, [01:10])

2. Shifting from Surviving to Thriving in a Streaming-Dominated Economy

[02:06]

• Touring is now the dominant revenue stream for musicians, as streaming provides minimal direct income.
• Turnwheel gives artists real-time budgeting tools, so they can adjust plans (like hotels or routing) mid-tour to remain profitable.
• The platform acts as a team's “single source of truth,” centralizing data and logistics.
  • Quote: “This is your only way of making money and you’re overspending, it’s going to very quickly not be your only way of making money anymore.” (Ashanti Abdullah, [02:34])
  • Quote: “Everybody’s on one page. It’s kind of the one single source of truth for the entire group.” (Ashanti Abdullah, [03:20])

3. The Decline of Album Sales & Changing Revenue Streams

[03:55]

• Streaming services are now more about music discovery than income.
• Success is defined more by audiences attending live shows or buying merchandise.
  • Quote: “Streaming’s become more of the way that people discover music now... It’s not so much MTV anymore. It’s definitely on the streaming side.” (Ashanti Abdullah, [03:58])

4. Streamlining Chaos: Turnwheel’s End-to-End Platform

[04:30]

• Turnwheel simplifies the traditionally chaotic logistics of touring by placing all information (schedules, communications, finances, guest lists) in one app.
• The platform eliminates the need for multiple group chats and spreadsheets, returning autonomy and mental clarity to artists and tour managers.
  • Quote: “You can take your phone back... once you get outside of Turnwheel, your phone is your phone again. So there’s not a bunch of other stuff going on on it.” (Ashanti Abdullah, [05:16])

5. Real-World Impact: The Greaves Case Study

[06:01]

• Ashanti shares the story of Greaves, an independent artist whose take-home income increased by an average of 21% after using Turnwheel.
• For Greaves, the platform was a “game changer,” allowing him to manage critical tour finances and logistics efficiently—demonstrating that Turnwheel can sometimes even stand in for a traditional tour manager for artists with established experience.
  • Quote: “Instead of him coming home with 32%, he’s coming home with 52%. And because this is something, this is what he does for a living day in and day out, I’m just overjoyed to see it actually show, improve and work out there in the wild.” (Ashanti Abdullah, [06:31])
  • Quote: “He’s what you’d call a blue-collar artist, an everyday artist.” (Ashanti Abdullah, [06:54])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On SaaS for Touring:
  • “I said, there’s gotta be a way to kind of model this out and think about it in real time.” (Ashanti Abdullah, [01:19])
• Host’s Perspective:
  • “Touring is now the major way people... can get in there and make some of their own money. Streaming has certainly changed the way for them to make money. For them to make money, it’s been hard.” (Brian, [03:32])
• On Restoring Peace of Mind:
  • “Your phone doesn’t have to have a bunch of different tech streams going on it.” (Ashanti Abdullah, [05:18])
• Host’s Summary of Impact:
  • “Having bring in an average of 21% increase on the take home pay basically is amazing. Just streamlining that whole process through one app, which is yours, Turn Wheel.” (Brian, [07:07])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:06] – Ashanti’s inspiration and hard lessons as an artist manager
• [02:06] – How Turnwheel empowers financial decision-making for artists
• [03:55] – How streaming has shifted the industry focus from album sales to live shows
• [04:30] – Demonstrating how Turnwheel streamlines team communications and logistics
• [06:01] – Case study on Greaves: tangible financial improvement and career impact

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Conclusion

Ashanti Abdullah’s Turnwheel is reframing how artists approach touring, empowering them financially and organizationally in an ecosystem upended by streaming. With a focus on real-time decision support, centralized communication, and transparency, Turnwheel is driving measurable financial results and peace of mind for its users—especially independent, “blue-collar” artists trying to build sustainable careers in music.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Welcome to Coruscant Technologies, home of the Digital Executive podcast. Welcome to the Digital Executive. Today's guest is Ashanti Abdullah. Ashanti Abdullah is the founder and CEO of Turnwheel. Ashanti is changing the way musicians approach their careers by addressing two of the biggest challenges artists face. Making a sustainable income and managing the complexities of touring. Turnwheel is helping musicians focus on what they do best, creating and performing well. Good afternoon, Ashanti. Welcome to the show.

[B]

Oh, thank you so much for having me, Brian.

[A]

Absolutely, my friend. I appreciate it. And you're hailing out of the great city of San Francisco up in Northern California, Bay area. Love that place. When I visit, I'm in Kansas City now, so. But we're just a couple time zones apart today. And Ashanti, if you don't mind, I'm going to jump right into your first question. And as a founder with firsthand understanding of the music industry, what were some of the hardest lessons you learned as a manager that influenced Turnwheels design and tackle these challenges?

[B]

Yeah, I mean, thanks for asking. That's. That's really what it is. In a nutshell. You know, I spent 20 years, just under 20 years managing artists and getting people on the road and touring. And throughout the process of doing all of that was realizing that there are so many opportunities for us to come home with a few more dollars than we did, but we wouldn't know that until the end of a tour. And so I said, there's gotta be a way to kind of model this out and think about it in real time. And that's really what kind of spawned this whole idea, this whole world of Turnwell.

[A]

Thank you. I appreciate that. And that is a lot of grinding. You know, 20 years as a manager, a lot of tours, a lot of grinding, a lot of shows. And I could just see at the end, people are probably tired and, you know, cutting quarters maybe, whatever. But you saw that opportunity, the there's gotta be a better way. And of course you implemented a new process and looked at that, and now we're going to talk a little bit more about what you've built, so I appreciate that. Ashanti, how does Turnwheel help artists shift from surviving to thriving financially, especially in today's streaming dominated music economy?

[B]

Yeah. So, you know, really, touring is kind of the only way, or not the only way, but it's the major way that artists make money these days. Right. Streaming has taken away this album sales, things of that nature. There's something to be said for the merchandise sales as well. Something that people can take home with them. But really, touring is how artists make their money. It's where the labels stay out of their business and kind of let them make the money that they make. And so this is the game, right? And unfortunately, a lot of artists, when they step in, they kind of jump into it. They get a couple of guarantees on a couple of venues, they get out there and then they overspend or they spend more than they should have when they're out there and they come home with no money. So if this is your only way of making money and you're overspending, it's going to very quickly not be your only way of making money anymore. Correct. So what we wanted to do is make sure that artists had the ability to budget prior to kind of see what the tour looks like just based off what they're getting offered, and then be able to follow that along the way every single day, every single moment. So if they need to pivot and maybe stay at a different hotel or do something a little different, they can stay specifically on that budget and know exactly how much money they're going to come home with. So that's really what this is in a nutshell, with the added benefits of being able to communicate with your team, specifically individually, knowing exactly where you're supposed to be at what time. Everybody's on one page. It's kind of the one single source of truth for the entire group.

[A]

I love that single source of truth for everybody. And that's one way to do it, is to centralize that and find obviously the shortest points from A to B and do that efficiently and effectively saving a little, little bit of money. Yeah, we see over the years, and you know this, you've been doing this a long time. Touring is now the major way people can. The brand. Right. Can get in there and make some of their own money. Streaming has certainly changed the way for them make money. It's changed for everybody. But for them to make money, it's been hard.

[B]

Yeah, I was just going to say, yeah. Streaming's become more of like the. Especially if you're thinking. Thinking about something like a Spotify, it's become more of the way that people discover music now. Right. They discover you and then they buy into you. That means either they're buying a piece of your product if it'd be a T shirt or something of that nature, or they're showing up to a show. So, yeah, it's just changed how people come to the music. It's not so much MTV anymore. It's definitely on the streaming side.

[A]

Thank you again. I appreciate that. Ashanti Touring remains one of the most chaotic parts of an artist's career. How is Turnwheel simplifying or streamlining this process?

[B]

Yeah, I mean, from beginning to end, it's pretty streamlined. So if you think about how this works, generally an artist that's of a decent level will have an. An agent and a manager and a tour manager, and then they'll have their staff, and everybody will kind of go out. That's kind of a medium s artist. So the way that streamline is their agent gets on the platform, pokes in a couple of things. It gets sent over to the manager. The manager then takes a look at it, says, yeah or nay, Sends it over with still all within the platform, sends it over the tour manager. Tour manager puts dates, times, and all those things that they need to be, where they need to be at, and he presses one button and boom, it shot out through the entire crew. So not only the crew, but the artists know exactly where they need to be, what to do, all the way down to the guest list. Like, everyone on tour can request guest lists through the app. So, yeah, I mean, it really takes all of the hassle and the hustle and the back and forth and group texts. And one of the big things that I say is you can take your phone back. As a tour manager, an artist, your phone doesn't have to have a bunch of different tech streams going on it. Once you get outside of Turnwell, your phone is your phone again. So there's not a bunch of other stuff going on on it.

[A]

So, yeah, really love that, and I appreciate the effort. You went into it, obviously you saw a problem and you came up with a solution, which I really love. Streamlining something as complex as this from beginning to end. But you mentioned agent, manager, tour manager, crew artist, whole nine yards. That's a lot to manage. But to do it all in one single place, I think that's amazing. So I appreciate that. Ashanti, last question of the day. Can you share a story? An artist who have successfully transformed their careers by using Turnwheel.

[B]

Yeah, I hate to use them. I use them all the time. But he's just like the number one champion for Turnbull. His name is Greaves. He's been in the business for about 20 years. He's. Touring is really how he lives his life. It's how he makes his money, takes care of his home, his kids, and all of these things. And this was such a massive game changer for him. He's in a place where he has a manager, but he knows more about being a tour manager than a tour manager does. And so this is a perfect tool to help him with that. Although it's not set up to replace someone, it can in certain situations if someone doesn't need that. And so it's been super helpful for him. And on average he's seen about a 21% increase in how much he's bringing home, which is pretty mind blowing just from that alone. Instead of him coming home with 32%, he's coming home with 52%. And because this is something, this is what he does for a living day in and day out, I'm just overjoyed to see it actually show, improve and work out there in the wild. He's what you'd call a blue collar artist, an everyday artist.

[A]

So that's awesome. I appreciate the story and obviously success stories are something that people love to hear. But having bring in an average of 21% increase on the take home pay basically is amazing. Just streamlining that whole process through one app, which is yours, Turn Wheel. So I appreciate that. Ashanti, I just want to let you know it was such a pleasure having you on today and I look forward to speaking with you real soon.

[B]

Oh, thank you so much. I enjoyed myself. Thanks for having me.

[A]

Bye for now.