Music executive Thabiso Khati is turning his attention to one of the industry’s biggest challenges – the business infrastructure behind the music – with the launch of Roster, an AI-powered operating system designed to manage an artist’s career from one platform.
A career built around South African music
Khati is no stranger to the evolution of South Africa’s music industry.
Over the past three decades, he has worked across record companies, artist management, live entertainment, festivals and music business development, playing a role in the commercial growth of some of the country’s most influential artists and genres.
He compiled The Muthaload, regarded as the first original South African hip hop compilation, before moving into senior marketing roles at Gallo Record Company.
During his time at Gallo, Khati was involved in launching artists including Skwatta Kamp, ProKid and Mr Selwyn. He also played a role in launching Thandiswa Mazwai and Simphiwe Dana and coined the term “Afro-Soul” to describe the sound associated with the artists.
His career later expanded into live entertainment, where he helped create concerts and festivals that placed South African artists alongside international stars including Pharrell and N.E.R.D and Usher.
Khati also staged what has been described as South Africa’s first and only hologram performance, featuring the late kwaito and pop icon Brenda Fassie.
He went on to co-found Cashtime Life with rapper K.O, run three divisions at Universal Music Group Africa and work on the Global Citizen Mandela 100 festival.
More recently, Khati has been involved in the management of some of the biggest names in the Amapiano movement.
The problem behind the music
It was through these experiences that Khati says he repeatedly encountered the same problem – artists had music, audiences and opportunities, but the infrastructure needed to properly manage their businesses was often fragmented.
Bookings could exist in one system while finances were managed somewhere else. Release schedules, royalty information, contracts, fan data and payments could all be spread across different platforms, spreadsheets and documents.
For independent artists and their teams, particularly in Africa, managing these disconnected systems can become a business in itself.
“I have spent 30 years breaking down doors in this business, and the hardest part was never the music, it was the machinery behind it,” said Khati, Founder and CEO of JO Labs.
“Roster is the platform I always wished I had. It does not just store your information, it does the work with you.”
What is Roster?
Roster has been launched by JO Labs as a fully agentic, end-to-end operating system designed to bring the different sides of an artist’s business together.
The platform covers areas including bookings, release planning, fan management, merchandise, contracts, royalties and catalogue management.
Its booking tools are designed to manage the process from dealing with promoters and maintaining gig calendars to checking flights and creating travel itineraries.
For releases, Roster can help artists and their teams build strategies, manage deadlines and coordinate the different tasks involved in putting music into the market.
The platform also incorporates fan CRM and merchandise functionality, while allowing users to register works with local and international collecting societies.
On the financial and business side, Roster includes tools for contracts, royalty management, catalogue valuation and advances.
The system also includes hundreds of tools, templates, contracts, calculators and guides.
Designed to work as one system
According to JO Labs, one of Roster’s key differences is that its various functions are connected rather than operating as separate tools.
Information entered into the system can be used across forms, contracts and reports, reducing the need for artists and managers to repeatedly enter the same information.
The platform is also designed around an agentic AI model, meaning users can ask Roster to carry out tasks rather than simply use it as a digital storage system.
“Africa makes some of the best music in the world, but we have never had the systems to carry it to the top,” said Khati.
“Roster is built first for our artists and our realities, and then for the world. This is how we close that gap.”
Starting with Africa
The launch comes at a time when African music has become increasingly influential internationally, with South African genres such as Amapiano reaching audiences and artists across the world.
Yet the infrastructure supporting independent artists, particularly outside traditional major-label systems, has not always developed at the same pace as the music itself.
Roster is positioning itself as an attempt to address that gap by creating a central operating system specifically designed around the realities of running an artist business.
The platform is already being tested by an early group of approximately 50 artists, managers and independent labels across South Africa and the wider African continent.
Invite-only rollout
Roster is currently rolling out by invitation, with artists, managers, labels and booking agents able to request early access.
The platform will offer subscription options, including a Pro Plan tier.
For Khati, the launch represents another chapter in a career that has largely been focused on building the infrastructure and commercial opportunities around South African music.
This time, rather than launching an artist or creating another music event, he is attempting to build the technology that can help artists manage everything that happens after the music is created.
Roster is available through an invite-only rollout at rosterapp.ai.
