Troy Carter has taken his time to return to the music industry since leaving Spotify in September last year – but now he’s officially back in business.
Carter, formerly Spotify‘s Global Head of Creator Services, has today (April 2) announced the formation of a new artist services company, Q&A, in partnership with J.Erving.
Erving’s previously-launched distribution and services company, Human Re Sources, now merges with Q&A to offer what the duo say is “an integrated solution for artists via distribution, management, label services, and data analytics with a highly collaborative artist-driven approach”.
Carter and Erving, who also worked together at management company Atom Factory, are joined at Q&A by fellow co-founder Suzy Ryoo (Atom Factory, OMD) who becomes President & Chief Strategy Officer. In addition, Tim Luckow, a co-founder of financial data platform Stem, joins Q&A as COO.
Human Re Sources, launched in 2018, has seen its curated roster of artists top one billion cumulative streams on digital platforms in less than 12 months.
The first official release via Q&A is Philadelphia singer/songwriter Pink Sweat$, who recently surpassed 100 million streams while garnering attention from tastemaker publications like The New York Times and The Fader.
“My time spent at Spotify allowed me the opportunity to see gaps that still exists between the music business and technology. Modern artists have to be more entrepreneurial than ever before. They’re looking for a lot more than music distribution, they want experienced teams that can help build long-lasting careers.”
Troy Carter, Q&A
Other breakthrough artists who previously went through Human Re Sources include Peter Manos (over 100 million streams), Charlotte Lawrence (over 125 million streams) and Brent Faiyaz (over 250 million streams), plus platinum recording artist YBN Nahmir, YBN Cordae and the YBN collective.
“My time spent at Spotify allowed me the opportunity to see gaps that still exists between the music business and technology,” said Troy Carter. “Modern artists have to be more entrepreneurial than ever before. They’re looking for a lot more than music distribution, they want experienced teams that can help build long-lasting careers.
“We designed the company to allow artists of any size to have a shot at success. Whether you choose to stay independent or continue on to major label, our goal is to help creators through the process with a high level of service and intuitive software.”
“Troy is one of the smartest and forward-thinking people I know. This industry is ever-changing and creators are more proactive today than I’ve ever seen,” said J. Erving. “Troy and I have always taken an artist-forward approach to the music business and we believe that artists and their needs should always be put first.”Music Business Worldwide
