Revered music industry heavyweight Troy Carter has been enlisted as the global head of creative services at Spotify in an attempt to stay on top of competitors like Apple Music and TIDAL. The role will see Carter heading up the implementation of fresh original content and orchestrating exclusive deals with artists, managers and record labels. With an impressive management CV that includes massive names like Eve, Biggie Smalls, Will Smith, Lady Gaga and John Legend, the 43-year-old Philadelphia native will also bring a wealth of experience and connections to the table from his role as CEO of Atom Factory, a talent management and production company that handles artists like Charlie Puth, Kamasi Washington, Benny Cassette, Meghan Trainor and more.
Carter posted an in-depth Facebook status to announce and detail his new role:
“It was all a dream, I used to read Word Up Magazine, Salt N Pepa, Heavy D up in the limousine…” – Notorious B.I.G
I started my career as a kid who loved hip hop. I would read the back of liner notes and knew every studio, engineer, and producer you could think of. I had a crazy “rain man” like recall on all things music. I loved music so much that I dropped out of high school and dedicated my life to it. It was never about making money; it just spoke to my soul and gave a skinny, shy kid the words he didn’t know how to say and the confidence he didn’t know he had. Music gave me life and fueled the culture around me.
When Eve asked me to be her manager, I had no clue what that meant. All I knew was that my job was to protect my friend. And that role of protector is one that I would find myself taking on for many artists over the years. So after 15 years of talent management, I’ve decided that it’s time to explore new roads. I’d like to thank all of the artists that gave me such an incredible opportunity by entrusting me and the Atom Factory team with their careers: Eve, Lady Gaga, John Legend, Meghan Trainor, Charlie Puth, and many many others. THANK YOU!
There’s a famous quote from JFK that says, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” With that said, I’m a firm believer that Spotify is the future for music. In my new role as Global Head of Creator Services, my job is just a natural continuation of what I’ve always done – protect the voice of artists. Always have and always will.
Through Atom Factory, my team will stay in place to run our tech, culture and hustle outlet SMASHD.co as well as launch a brand innovation agency. And through Smashd Labs and Cross Culture VC, I’ll still continue investing in great founders that have the ability to deliver next wave disruption to culture.
Looking forward to the road ahead!
Troy