Achickwitbeatz presents ⁠the Instrumental Intel podcast⁠, bringing you information instrumental to your artistic career including music industry news & tips, insights & interviews, and beats for your inspiration. Listen on Saturdays at 7 pm EST on ⁠⁠⁠Grander Radio⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Achickwitbeatz.com⁠⁠⁠.
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Instrumental Intel Podcast

Achickwitbeatz brings you information instrumental to your artistic career including music industry news, insights, interviews, and beats for your inspiration. Listen on Saturdays at 7 pm ET on ⁠⁠⁠Grander Radio,⁠⁠⁠ Achickwitbeatz.com⁠⁠⁠, and your favorite podcast platform.

Transcript Generated by Riverside

00:01
Hey, thank you for tuning in to Instrumental Intel. I am your host, music producer, Achickwitbeatz. And I'm glad that you're here with me. I got another episode that's got music industry news, instrumentals by me for your inspiration. And later my special guest, Ashton Stevens will be joining me. We're gonna talk a little bit about building a connected community in music and more. So it's going to be a great time. And before I go ahead and drop this first.

00:24
As always, I'd love to give a shout out to my home station, Grander Radio out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. And with that, let's go.

[BEAT BREAK]

14:14
Alright, I'm back with the music biz brief. First up, Meta is reportedly prototyping a music feature for Threads. This will allow users to add songs to posts similar to Instagram and Facebook. It was spotted by a reverse engineer, but the feature is still in development and not publicly tested. If launched, it could enhance post though it might not appeal to everyone. Threads is also exploring profile updates like display names and cover images to compete with platforms like X and Blue Sky. Next,

14:44
Blackstone Inc. is exploring the sale of CSAC and related song rights including catalogs tied to artists like Bob Dylan and Adele, with a potential valuation exceeding $3 billion. CSAC, known for licensing music for public performances, is one of the few performance rights organizations not bound by federal consent decrees, making it more profitable and faster growing than industry giants like ASCAP and BMI.

15:09
This move highlights the continued financial interest in music rights as valuations soar amidst the rise of streaming and global recorded music revenues doubling over the past decade. Also, a new app, Smart Music Manager, has launched to help European artists expand their reach in Latin America's top streaming markets like Mexico and Brazil. Developed by Spanish agency MelBoss with EU support, the app provides analytics, social media tools, and AI-driven release plans.

15:36
Described as a fitness app for musicians, it offers tailored daily exercises to help artists grow their digital presence, especially those from smaller markets. The app debuted at the ESNS conference in the Netherlands. Next, Yamaha has launched the $50 million Yamaha Music Innovations Fund to support startups in music, tech, and audio. Aiming to boost innovation in music creation, streaming, and fan engagement, the fund seeks startups with unique strengths including AI tools, educational projects, and music.

16:05
and artist monetization solutions. Set to fully launch in April 2025, Yamaha's initiative aligns with its mission to enhance global well-being through sound and music. Also, Deezer is expanding its artist-centric royalty system to include publishing rights, partnering with French collecting society Sassim. Initially launched in 2023 for recordings,

16:26
The updated model, currently exclusive to France, introduces measures like royalty boost for tracks meeting monthly stream thresholds and excluding noise tracks from payouts. This development follows a 15-month exploration of the model's complexities since the partnership's announcement in late 2023. In other news, global audio streams hit $4.8 trillion in 2024, up 14% year-over-year, with emerging markets like Asia driving the growth.

16:52
New music accounted for over 80% of streams, but catalog consumption, which are songs older than 18 months, outpaced newer releases and growth as listeners revisited older favorites. Meanwhile, pop music was the fastest growing genre in the U.S. fueled by female artists like Taylor Swift, who was 2024's most streamed songwriter. Superfans now make up 20% of U.S. music listeners, spending 66% more on live events. Interestingly,

17:19
Daily song uploads to streaming platforms fell 4.4%, hinting at efforts to reduce low-quality tracks. Also, streaming fraud has become a persistent challenge in the music industry, but Apple Music is stepping up. Speaking at Music Ally Connect, its global head of music partnerships and business programs revealed that less than 0.3% of Apple Music streams are manipulated. Their methods include real-time fraud detection, detailed reporting, and financial penalties for distributors allowing manipulation.

17:48
These efforts have already reduced manipulated streams by 50% in just one year, setting an example for fair royalties and accurate charts. Next, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek sold another $29.3 million in Spotify shares this week, adding to a series of transactions totaling $597.3 million since mid-2023. Ek has strategically cashed out shares as Spotify's stock hit historic highs.

18:15
with its market value exceeding $100 billion. Co-founder Martin Lawrenson also sold 556.8 million shares in 2024, but he paused sales in December. Spotify continues to expand in the podcasts, audio books, and videos, with fourth quarter 2024 financial results expected on February 4th. And I'll definitely be sure to keep you posted with that.

18:39
Alright, and finally, a US federal court handed Universal Music Group a partial victory in a lawsuit filed by Limp Bizkit and Fred Durst, dismissing copyright claims and efforts to void contracts. The judge ruled that delayed royalty payments didn't justify nullifying the agreements, as Universal has made significant investments in the band. However, allegations of fraud and breach of contract could still move forward in a state court.

19:05
The lawsuit also accuses Universal of withholding royalties from artists through flawed systems, with a February 3rd deadline to amend the complaint for federal jurisdiction. Alright, and that's a wrap for the music biz. Brief, stick around, I'm gonna take a quick pause for the cause and then I'll be back with my special guest, Ashton Stevens, right after this. Keep it locked.

[BEAT BREAK]

26:49
Hey, I'm Achickwitbeatz, multi-genre music producer and strategist to indie artists and labels. Visit achickwitbeatz.com for resources for artists and instrumentals in various genres available for songs, blogs, blogs, podcasts, themes, TV, film, commercials, and more. Once again, that's achickwitbeatz.com. That's A-C-H-I-C-K-W-I-T-B-E-A-T-Z.com Let's make something happen.
Hey, thank you so much for tuning in to Instrumental Intel. I am your host, music producer, Achickwitbeatz. I'm excited to say that I have back with me in the virtual building. It's been a while, but Ashton Stevens, who was on a previous radio show,

27:47
Music Marvels. So since it's your first time on instrumental Intel, can you talk a little bit about who Ashton Martin/Ashton Stevens is and how you got started with music and all that good stuff? For sure. So, uh, you know, of course, uh, for us, it's, it's kind of like a family meeting up again, but for those that, uh, may not know who I am, um, I'm from Marianna, Florida,

28:16
outside of like you could say Tallahassee, Panama City-ish, kind of like the panhandle line. I was kind of raised around music so when I got into music it was not really a surprise to anyone that's outside of my family. My grandmother was an opera singer honestly, I didn't know that for a while until I was adult but she was actually an opera singer at one point in time.

28:44
became and got into the choir at the church. Started moving heavily. They started their own choir sector, kind of like the All-Star Choir. And my dad did the same, following in her footsteps, except for he actually became a songwriter. He was a drummer. My granddad played the guitar. But even on my mom's side, she always kept a lot of music around. She loved music, R&B, soul. And as far as like Hip Hop,

29:14
A lot of my older cousins is kind of where I got introduced into Hip Hop specifically. My dad was in Hip Hop too, but he was in a lot of different genres. But Hip Hop specifically, I fell in love when I seen people freestyle and battle rap. That's when I was like, ooh, I like this. And I came up in like a, I'm in a weird position in my family and my daddy's side. So

29:42
I'd kind of like to give context. Out of my grandmother's family, she had about eight to nine siblings. She had a lot of siblings. And everybody, all of her siblings, by the time I was born had passed. I think she only had one that's left. And he even passed when I was like, before I hit a teenager fully. So all of my cousins and the people that was around.

30:07
Most people that related to me where I'm from, my grandma was they auntie, like literally like my grandma was they great auntie. Well, she's passed in 2020, but she was my, she was their great auntie. So I was like in a weird position in my family because I got a lot of cousins that were like way older than me. And I came in at like a gap. So it was like, by the time I was born, I didn't really have anyone my age. Everyone was kind of older than me.

30:34
until after me of course, then a lot of cousins were born. But up until that point, I kind of grew up, I didn't have any older siblings that I knew of at the time. But so I kind of grew up like, I guess wanting to impress my older cousins or the older people that were around me. And music was the first thing that was like,

30:58
got their attention. That was like, oh wow, it's legit. It's actually good at that. It's, hear this little dude rap, listen to this little dude. It was kind of like, that's kind of how it started. And then it was like, oh, that's pretty cool. You know, and then it moved into being able to like actually put my life into it. And as I got older, I noticed the need, I guess my purpose kind of was shown.

31:25
And it was more sort of like, okay, I see exactly where I'm supposed to be. I know that I have a thing about motivating people. I have a thing about influencing people. Um, in the beginning, I noticed it in negative ways because I'm like, Oh, it's not like I'm actually influencing people. I'm noticing this like early on, like I'm just playing songs with people. And I'm hearing like, mind you, I say, I had a lot of cousins and a lot of siblings come after me, so I'm noticing them like quoting my lyrics. And I'm like, Hmm, that's, that may not be the best thing.

31:54
like it was true to me because at the time period that's that's it was just my life that's kind of how music always been it was just my life but it was kind of like okay something has to change so instead of changing a music I changed my life because I was never like I always was like I can't I can not not be true to this so let me make some changes in my life first and then let me put this into the music and then from there we just been grinding like it just it started with

32:23
just that thought out, just the love for it. And then it turned into a brand and then it's beginning to expound into even more, more than I could ever imagine that it had turned into. So it's kind of how I got started where I'm from, like my background. Okay, wow, what a story. And you know, a lot of people say, okay, yeah, came from a musical family, but.

32:44
Man, that lineage you mentioned was just humongous and tremendous. It is. And what's crazy is most of my cousins around me rap too, as well. So people ask, like, it's crazy when people be like, oh, who's your influential rappers? And it's like, honestly, I do have main big stream influences, but honestly, it would be the people that was around me. That's really like, if you was to ask me who really influenced me.

33:09
It was like my older cousins or like my homeboys, older brothers, like those were the people that really influenced me to rap. Like it was like real time. That's what's up. So that's cool to be young but still have like an old soul just because of how you came up and who you came up around. Yeah, it kind of explains like the difference in your music compared to what you hear mostly on mainstream. Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

33:38
Yeah, that's not a knock to mainstream, you know, it all has its place and purpose But yeah, if you could maybe talk a little bit about the transition into the new name Transition. Yeah for sure. Um, so everybody know well in the beginning if you've met me anywhere between 20 Probably about 2014 2015 To 20

34:07
Yeah, you know, I went by Ashton Martin. And that name, I'll start with the background of that name itself. That name Ashton is my my real name. That's my first name. Martin was actually given to me by a producer. Shout out to J.E. in Pensacola. He came up with it originally just to have a play off of the car. And it was really just with that with him. But I hated it. I was like, man, this I'm not just going to be playing off a car.

34:36
Like no offense either, but I always thought in my head, I can't play off another white man's name either. You know what I'm saying? Just being real with you, I can't do that. So we gotta have something else that's deeper behind it. And I was asleep one day and I kept trying to, I kept trying to think an acronym for Martin. And as I like, it was like mid, in between 3 a.m., 4 a.m., I just woke up out of my sleep.

35:04
And my wife at the time was there and I was just I said I got it. I got it She's like what is wrong with you? I got it. I got the name like it's motivating all relevant to inspire nations Now I have no idea why I know where it came from It was God that gave it to me, but at the time I had no idea what that came from I just woke up in the middle night and said it and went right back to sleep So I could imagine she was looking crazy she was like, okay, all right

35:31
That's where Ashton Martin came from. As I kinda got more into it, I realized that Martin actually is a purpose. It's not, it was never meant to be my name. It was meant to kinda showcase what I'm called to do. What's my purpose here through the music. And in short, what it really means is I motivate people who motivate people, or I inspire leaders. That's like my goal. That's the purpose behind it.

36:01
So last year I had came to that revelation and I've been wanting to kind of change my name over the couple years Just because I'm sure you can imagine a lot of issues with SEO a lot of I had issues between Apple music and Spotify because Apple music I sure is one thing Spotify sure is one thing so I kind of changed it to it's Ashton Martin at one point In time to kind of like help myself with SEO, but it didn't really help You know, it still was the same issues and search issues

36:30
So I've been kind of wanting to change my name from there, but I really, really got a clear revelation last year of just your name is your name. You know what I'm saying? And then actually also another thing is having a child made me really want to put my last name and my actual name, because this is going to be the same name that he's going to carry. So I'm like, I really want something that is going to go directly to his name. And when he look at his name, he can say like, oh yeah, that's me. That's, you know what I'm saying? That's my family. And so.

37:00
It was also just wanting to really just be myself from that point. I these past couple of years, I went through a lot of transitions and I've hit the point of like, it's beyond just being an artist, a businessman or a musician. It's just like I really genuinely just want to be myself at this point in my life. And and that's really what it represents, just Ashton Stevens. Now, Martin, that's why I say people still say Martin and the brand is still and me because that is still the purpose.

37:27
Um, it's just that I'm not my purpose. My purpose is actually way bigger than me, but I am a representation of this. So, you know, that's, that's, that's kind of like the, the, the meaning behind the name change. That's deep. Sincerely. And yeah, shout out to your little mini you. But, um, yeah. So, um, personally, I've actually been through a name change before, and that's always kind of a struggle to get people to switch over.

37:56
But yeah, especially when you put it like that, I think that'll definitely stick. And you know, even though it might take some people awhile, that definitely see your purpose behind it. And I think that's a really honorable thing. Yeah, for sure, for sure. I think it's gonna be some people that's gonna always call me Martin. Literally I have siblings that call me that. That's so it's like, I'm not expecting that to really change. And that's why I'm like, I don't really trip about people still using Martin. I just wanna like, when it comes to

38:24
public display like stage name actually like, you know what I'm saying? My stuff showing up somewhere, Asha Stevens. But you know, but you know, those are no, you know, smart. And so it's cool. It's no, it's no. Either way you good. Yeah. Either way you good. Yeah, for sure. Oh, right. Okay. You talked a little bit about, um, you know, kind of the purpose behind your music. What do you do to kind of get into the creative process? Do you just kind of let the ideas flow or do you have like a certain.

38:53
I don't know, maybe habit or not really a ritual, but something that you kind of do to get into the process to be able to create. To be honest, the answer is all of the above. I really don't have, I'm probably like the most chaotic person when it comes to creating. It's crazy because, and it's funny because I know people always have like their set thing they do when they record. Only thing that really stays consistent with me is the place.

39:20
Most of the time when I record, most of my music as of late has been done in this room where I'm at right now. And I'm usually sitting down. But if I feel the need to stand up, I'll stand the mic up and I'll stand up if I feel like it just needs more energy. But most of the time, most of my recordings have been sitting down. And I think that's another reason why people say like your voice kind of over the last couple of projects kind of sound different. And it's like, yeah, I got into like the...

39:49
sitting recording now I feel more comfortable and I feel like I can fluctuate and change my voice now a lot more versus it just being one tone. And I think that used to be because one thing I worked on early on I was very monotone in rock. So I think I kind of overcorrected it a little bit and so I went extra extra and I was like you know what I actually kind of just want to go more back to that and then kind of be able to just change it when I feel.

40:18
you know what I'm saying? Cause that's my actual natural voice. I don't naturally like, I'm not naturally like super duper loud like that. So that's probably the only thing consistent. Anything else can change. I think now I record more in the mornings because I'm more fresh in the mornings now. But I think honestly, that's just because being a parent. Like I just, that's like the most free time that I have honestly. So, and I may write and I may not write. Like there's been...

40:46
Most of the time, most of the stuff I do, I'm a writer because I am a writer at heart. But there's been some songs that I've, you're probably hearing and think that I wrote it. I didn't write any of it. Like it literally just came off my head. Some of them take days, literally, to do. Some of it is literally like I can hear it. I get the thought, the process, create the song and literally record the song in the same day. It's just, it's really, I like, me, I always say, I don't like to force it.

41:15
So if I feel like I'm beginning to force it, I'll stop until it comes natural, because I feel like that translates in the music. And now I record at home, so it's different. Back in the days when I used to have to go to the studio, I didn't really have too much of a choice in it. Like, I gotta get it done now. So, I have it comes out, that's how it's come. That's what we keep it on record. But I kind of have the ability to be a lot more natural now. So that's kind of how I keep my creative process. Okay.

41:43
Yeah, so I really dig that variety. I just saw a post recently where somebody was talking about like how sometimes creating stuff, it just flows. It could be anywhere from five minutes to five years to finish something. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. So, OK, well, like doing it at home, you know, that's got to give you a certain type of relaxed feeling, too. I know that's typically where I record. I rarely go into the studios, usually if it's for someone else's.

42:11
project but yeah it's just something about being in your own environment. Yeah for sure. I feel like it's just more natural because it's like literally like you're right there you're able to come back to something or if you like do it and then you're like oh I want to change this up. It's easy it's just cutting your stuff on changing it up. I will say the downside is you can't get too comfortable. So it's like sometimes I notice I'm like okay I could have really finished this out or I was like very

42:40
lazy on this record as far as like piecing it together. Like I know I could like literally rap this whole verse and I just chose to like piece it together because I was lazy at the moment. So it's like, it is a balance tool of like still making sure that you're sharp on your craft. Like not necessarily like slacking off, but you know, taking breaks when needed to be taken, you know, but like still staying on it though. You know, still making sure you're sharp, your pen is sharp, your-

43:06
your tone, you know, all of these things, you know, because it's different when you're in front of people, you always present yourself as the best version of yourself. So it's like, I still, I'm grateful for that time period of recording in the studio because it showed me how to record, the proper ways to record, it showed me to give your best effort, you know what I'm saying? But at the same time, you know, how long you more relaxed, so.

43:32
I kind of was forced into it when I moved to Atlanta. I had my own equipment. And then once I got off my first tour, literally came back from the first tour, we was homeless. And so we was kind of transitioning around Airbnb, Airbnb, and I ended up having my equipment stolen out my trunk. So from those couple of years, I was like, I had no choice but to go and record in some of the studios. But it made me so much of a better artist because

44:01
I came ready. Like I had to make sure everything was ready when I came to the studio. So it definitely did shape me into a better artist from that process. Yeah. I bet that makes it even easier to collaborate with you. Yeah. You know, just cause you have that kind of experience. And that speaking of which, how do you choose how to collaborate? Does it just kind of happen organically or are there people that...

44:26
Maybe you're connected to them more, you hear of each other, you just gravitate towards each other. How do you go about selecting that? For me, if it's my song, if it's my project that I'm working on, I say it like that. I go by who I hear or its relationship is well, obviously you want to have a relationship with the person that you have, want to make sure the chemistry is there. But I don't know. It's like,

44:54
I kind of hear the person. Sometimes it'll be a song that I start on. And me, like I'm the type of person when I'm done, I'm done, whether it's a minute or five minutes. Like when I'm done writing to you, I feel like my part on this track is done, I stop. And so it's been some songs where it's like, okay, I only got like 45 seconds on this. Obviously I need to have something to finish this track with. And you know, we live in a day too where, you know, that's the song now.

45:20
So, yeah, that's the song. Real talk. So it's like, yeah, I understand that too. But if I feel like it needs to be longer, that's where some of my features come into play. I reach out to certain people if I feel like the vibe fits what they already are. It's like I like a balance too, because I like to push people. I don't like to have people completely comfortable. So I like to keep something that's natural in their space, but at the same time.

45:49
If I know it's something that they don't usually do, I'm gonna encourage them to really do it. You know what I'm saying? Cause I'm like, I really like, I like getting the best out of people too. And I think that's kind of like the producer in me as well. People always told me that I'm really good at like choosing people to be on songs. Like even if it's not my song, I can usually hear it. And like, I had like, he already have all these independent artists. I'd be like, bro, y'all two should work together. Cause that would be.

46:15
I can literally hear it. Like I can hear y'all two coming together and they would not normally work together, but you know, or just certain producers with certain artists. I don't know. I just love the pairing. As of late, me and PA on the track has been working very, very closely together. So I feel like where we connected at was just that work ethic itself. We have a very, we both have a similar drive when it comes to pushing out songs.

46:43
And I think naturally that's just kind of how it started. Like he really just started with me for features. So I'll kind of like get on some of his stuff. And he noticed, dang, you always are like the fastest to get it back to me. You know, and I'm like, honestly bro, it's probably just because I got my equipment right here. But he was like, nah, it's deeper than that. He was like, just your drive, you have the drive to complete it. And I tell him, I'm like, when it's somebody else project, bro, I treat it like it's somebody else's property.

47:11
I wouldn't want to borrow somebody else's stuff and not give it back. You want to give it back as quick as possible and as quality as possible. So that's kind of how I always treat my features. And from there, he had a different... His style is totally different from mine. And at first I was like, for my projects, I couldn't really see us working together. I'm like, I don't really see it as far as my project. I don't see where it fits. But then we kind of had to start having more conversations, getting to know each other as people.

47:40
And we kind of found that meeting point and we're like, oh, okay, this is the sweet spot right here. We got it now. Like we got something now. So, I mean, since last year, he's probably been the one that I've been working more consistently on. And even for like my next coming projects, we've been grinding. We probably got over like, I don't know how many songs. We got a lot of songs right here.

48:05
Yeah, I'm excited for what we got coming up for sure. Well, that's what's up. I think especially what you mentioned about getting to know each other and having the conversations, I feel like there's not really a whole lot of that going on anymore. Yeah, most people are just kind of chasing sounds and not really the chemistry and the energy before the collaboration. So I think that's really important. I'm really glad that you mentioned that, you know, the whole purpose of this podcast is actually, you know, the help artists.

48:35
Cause I mean, we all have like these different experiences, different things that we can pull from and we can learn from each other like that. So I'm really glad that you brought that up. Do you have any, I guess maybe advice or suggestions for somebody that might be kind of struggling to branch out, to actually seek out that type of energy instead of just chasing sounds? Yeah, for sure. My advice is don't be so transactional. And this is coming from a person who knows business as well.

49:03
I'm a very, very, just as much as I am like this personal guy, I'm also a shark when it comes to business. So I'm telling you this as both of these guys, don't be so transactional. And I know for me in the beginning of learning how to network, that was my issue. I looked at everything is like a transaction. And then I grew to learn like it's really more about relationships because that's what last you know what I'm saying? Like yeah, you might meet these people and yeah, y'all might exchange information.

49:31
But over the years, you will look and see like, okay, the people that I actually build relationships for are the people that we both benefit from each other and we both actually last longer, you know what I'm saying, with each other. It's a lot of people that I've met within these last five years. We may follow each other, but it's like, I have no contact with them. Like, you know what I'm saying? I have literally no contact and I'm hitting a point in my life I really don't have any desire for that any longer. Like I really want to build with people.

50:00
And it don't even mean that we're gonna ever work together. It's just having a relationship with a person. Like, I give you P.A. for example. I've known P.A. since 2019. I didn't work with him on any of my stuff until 20, maybe 2021, 2022, maybe even 2023 to be honest with you. We was like just building a relationship for that long until I felt the time is right until we've both kind of found where we meet at. Our artistry, you know what I'm saying?

50:31
Don't look at things just so transactionally, you never know. If you find somebody that you vibe with, that you feel the energy on that person, continue to build that relationship even if you don't think that it'll benefit you in any way, shape or form career-wise. It's about, we are human beings first. That even comes to marketing yourself. I feel like a lot of people, they chase...

50:59
marketing of just wanting to build a following instead of building a community or humans that relate to you. You know what I'm saying? Because you look at the biggest artists, that's what they have. You look at when these big artists perform, like I ain't talking about like the people that blow up every day. I'm talking about like the ones that the titans of the rap game right now. If you go to their shows and you look at these people face, it's something that truly connects. It hits different with them. You know what I'm saying? It's something that, that, that whole, like, you know, it's, it's a connection.

51:29
So yeah, that's kind of how I think about it. Wow, that's excellent advice. And I get what you mean. Excuse me about the whole thing being transactional, like that, especially on Instagram, a lot of other social media sites and whatever, but I feel like there is a place that people will randomly send me music. I mean, not even so much as a hi, hello, I like what you do, I think you might like this, it's just like, boom.

51:58
And at the time, like, I don't even click it. Like you haven't even introduced yourself. I just followed you back. You immediately bombard me. Like, yes, the, the relationship building is kind of a lost art, but yeah, I hope that people kind of find their way back to that again. I really do. Yeah. My, I, I know my wife taught me that, uh, that curious, she's like the relationship queen, how she really knows how to nurture.

52:26
and build relationships. And I had, I learned that from her, to be honest with you, when it comes to networking. That's what's up. She's awesome, by the way. Thank you, thank you. I agree. Coming from, cause I think also, like I had to learn a lot because where I'm from, and I was literally just having this conversation with somebody from Atlanta. They were like just in Florida, and it was kind of like talking about the people in Florida. He was doing like something. Salesman type stuff, I think it was just, he was standing out in the front, just, it was not necessarily a salesman, but he was making people aware of

52:55
their company, et cetera, in their calls. And he was like, man, Florida's cool, but you get some very standoffish people. I'm like, yeah, that's kind of like where, that's the culture where I'm from. I'm like, that's why I understand people from like New York, we like connect instantly because you may not see it, but we're very similar when it comes to like, let me feel you out first, a person to like perform. I'm always telling people, I'm like, bro,

53:24
Performing anywhere else feels very Kate to me because where I'm from bro people were literally like folded arms mug on a face Look at you not vibe nothing. Just just look at you and then come up to you afterwards He like bro, I might have to fight this dude or something and then be like fam. That was hard, bro We just got like a very in the beginning is very standoffish but when we do open up and we rock with you rock with you be heavy like

53:52
I don't know why it's like that. That's just where it's at. And I had to like really shape that coming into Atlanta because everybody is so like open, like, oh, this is what I do, da da da da da. And I'm like, almost in the sense of like, back up, bro. Like, I got you back up though. Like, yeah. Right. So I had to really like learn how to like network. And it was like a culture shock for me in the beginning. And I'm like, okay, I get it. I'm learning networking. And then when I started, it became too transactional. And it's just like, you share this, I share this, or we connect on this, you connect on this.

54:23
Okay, so maybe this is what networking is. And I began to see her networking, she's like building real relationships. I'm like, how you do that? Like, she was like, you gotta nurture the relationship. You can't just follow each other in this spec that this gonna just, I'm like, oh, okay. So this is how you, you know, and then it got from that to like just really at the space I'm at, I'm like just really wanting just relationship. I don't really care too much for anything else. Like I really, you know, look for genuine people.

54:52
and any space, because I look at the people that really lasted and really helped me in my career was just genuine people. That's really what it was. Yeah, that's so important. So, speaking of your career, I can't believe how quickly this time has flown by. So I'm again, leave the door open for you to come back. Maybe we got to do a part two sometime soon. But I can't let you get out of here without letting people know what's in the pipeline for you. And of course,

55:21
You know, like the new stuff you got coming out, new stuff that you recently had out, where they can follow you, find you, all that good stuff. For sure. So you can follow me on all platforms. Now it's Ashton Stevens, I-T- That's all my socials at this point. And music wise, any streaming services, Ashton Stevens. As far as what I got coming out,

55:50
I have a continuation of my last EP. So the last EP I released in November, it was entitled Jubilee, volume one, and we have volume two coming out this March. So definitely stay tuned from that. It's gonna be a continuation, a continuation and an elevation from that project, for sure, for sure. And I'ma just say, stay tuned for that, stay tuned for a lot more to come behind that project as well, we definitely.

56:19
Been working on this rollout for some months now, and I'm excited to roll it out. We're going, you know, yeah, we got something planned for that for sure, for sure, so definitely stay tuned. A&E itself, definitely stay tuned for a new merch. I'm gonna get that back rolling. I know a lot of people been on my noggin about that, and I'm like, please, please be patient. We had a whole rebrand, and like, the logo's even different now. Everything is different now. So it's like, it actually is now an enterprise,

56:49
We merged our other sources of income and careers into A&B now. So now it's more of an enterprise. And so, as well as being a music artist, I'm now also into risk management. I know people like, what the freak? How does those two go together? But it's like, bro, thinking about it like this. If you're an artist, you're on tour, you don't have insurance for your stuff. You tripping off the rip. You're tripping. Equipment.

57:16
all of my promoters that are booking artists, you wonder why you booked this artist and they end up flaking and you don't get the deposit back, you know, etc, etc. This is where I come into play with risk management in those areas. So we've been stepping into those fields with other sides of risk management as well. It's definitely a lot that we're going to come out with more and speaking a little bit more we're going to, we just want to educate. That's like the biggest thing.

57:44
That's what the E stands for, A and B, anyway. So just definitely want to educate our people, artists, independent artists, and business owners, you know what I'm saying? Because at the end of the day, if you're an independent artist, you are a business owner. And I think it needs to be more education on that, for sure, for sure. Absolutely. So yeah, that's what we got coming through the pipeline. For now, definitely stream Jubilee, Volume One.

58:12
I've got a lot of feedback from that one. Probably since 2021, I haven't really got, I haven't got anything like the feedback that I got from this project since like 2021. So I'm excited for that. And I'm looking forward to expounding on it for sure. Well, that's awesome. So yeah, I definitely wanna thank you for taking the time to come on here and share what's been going on with you and what you've got going on.

58:38
I still maintain we got to have a part two, but specifically about the risk management. Oh, yeah, for sure. Cause it's a risky business for sure. So yeah, once you're ready to come back and talk some more about that, you know, that's that's a whole episode in itself. So yeah, I think that'd be dope. I think it'd be dope to even have a wifey along on that one. Yeah, so most definitely. We can definitely talk on that on that side of AME as well. So

59:06
I would love that. That'll be perfect. So yeah, we got to do that sooner rather than later. For sure. But yeah, thank you for taking the time out today and yeah, already looking forward to next time. Yeah, same here. Thank you for having me. It's a blessing every time. And I'm just grateful for you as well, being such the genuine person that you are. It's funny you say you love my wife. My wife loves you as well too. Oh, yay.

59:32
All right, thank you. All right, and that's a wrap for this episode of Instrumental Intel. I've been your host, music producer, Achickwitbeatz. And once again, I'd like to thank you for joining me. I'd like to thank my special guest, Ashton Stevens, for coming through and sharing his wisdom. And of course, I'd like to thank my home station, Grander Radio out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Make sure you come back next week. I got more goodies lined up for you. So, till next time, you know where to find me. Tune in, tell a friend. I'll see you then. Peace.