Spotify's global head of creator services Troy Carter has exited the company, it has been confirmed.
The former Lady Gaga manager and founder, chairman and CEO of entertainment firm Atom Factory, joined the streaming giant in 2016.
“By all measures, Troy has made a tremendous impact at Spotify,” said a statement by co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek. “When he joined our team, there was skepticism from the artist community on streaming overall.
"Troy has been instrumental in changing that perception and his efforts to establish true partnerships across the industry will be felt for years to come. He’s built a very capable, global team that embodies an artist-first approach and this philosophy has been adopted across Spotify. We are in an excellent position to build on the momentum we’ve established well into the future.”
Carter, who will be succeeded by Spotify's VP, global head of shows and editorial Nick Holmsten, will take on an advisory role. Rumours of his exit had circulated in the wake of the company's initiative on hate content and conduct that could result in the removal of artists from playlists or, in certain cases, from the platform.
“I came to this company to help bridge the gap between Spotify and the creative community,” Carter said in a statement. “Over time, that goal evolved from fixing a challenge to building a global team focused on changing the game for artists around the world, partnering with them to help bring their creative visions to life in new and innovative ways.
"I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved but with so much accomplished, it was the right time to move out of the day-to-day into an advisory role. The knowledge, relationships and personal experiences will remain with me and I know that this talented team is committed to continuing this important work.”
Carter's exit follows the departure of George Ergatoudis, head of music culture, international shows & editorial, to lead Apple Music’s UK operation. Tom Connaughton was promoted to UK MD and Austin Daboh was upped to UK head of shows & editorial last week.
Chief content officer Stefan Blom also left in January and was replaced by Dawn Ostroff, while global programming head of hip-hop Tuma Basa departed in March, later joining YouTube as director of urban music.
