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Troy Carter

Troy Carter91 posts

Troy Carter is an American businessman, born in Philadelphia in 1972. Originally a member of the short-lived rap group 2 Too Many, he worked for Puff Daddy before setting up his own artist management company. In 2007 he became Lady Gaga’s manager, helping her sell over 24 million albums and 90 million singles. He split with Gaga in 2013. He is an active investor in over 50 technology startups. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and five children.

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1995

Joins Bad Boy Entertainment

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Carter graduates from throwing house parties to promoting rap concerts. While promoting a Notorious B.I.G. show in Philadelphia — where Biggie Smalls is a no-show — Carter gets talking to Combs, who had signed B.I.G to his label:

We were having a conversation and I said to Puff, ‘Well, tell me about what you do.’ And he told me, and I said, ‘I want to come work with you.’ ‘Well, your first job is to get me that girl behind the bar.’ And I went and got him that girl from behind the bar, introduced him. So I started interning for Bad Boy.

Carter spends a year and a half with Puff Daddy, taking the Greyhound bus to New York three days a week.

1999

Hires Carter as manager

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Jeffers hires Carter to manage her rap career. Carter makes Eve his full-time job and starts building his talent-management company, Boy Wonder.

18 Apr, 2012

Hires Carter as manager

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Banks signs Carter as her manager.

I just switched management.. Literally like three days ago, and have a whole new set of resources to take advantage of. We’re gonna vamp this up and make it official.. No more ghetto mixes and closet recording.. I have a budget now.

May 2012

Enlists Nas for RapGenius

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Carter helps enlist Nas to become RapGenius’ first verified rapper. Carter:

Our thinking was, ‘You get Nas and a lot of people are going to follow. He’s going to be able to give you great advice on the product. He built so much credibility on the rap side, that now people are annotating presidential speeches, Shakespearean plays, country lyrics. Our bet, and Andreessen Horowitz’s bet now, is that after a few months people are going to be able to utilize the site for just about anything.

5 Aug, 2012

Hires Carter as manager

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Chopra hires Carter as her manager. Carter:

She’s a triple threat—she has the ability to sing, dance, and act which is a rare trait amongst artists. She will be the first bonafide pop artist to come directly out of India. The primary plan is to let the music speak for itself. Priyanka and Red One made a great record that we think will stand on its own. People won’t buy the music just because she is who she is. We want them to buy it because it’s good. PC’s strength is her work ethic. She’s one of the hardest working artists that I know. I was really impressed by the level of dedication she’s given to the recording process. She’s approached it in a manner that a seasoned artist would approach it.

22 Apr, 2013

Signs Carter as manager

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Stirling signs Carter as her manager. Carter first discovers Stirling through Atom Factory’s Stiklorius, who encourages her boss to check out Stirling’s YouTube channel. He flies to Orlando, FL., to check out one of her gigs, and is impressed by her ability to sell out a 1,200-seat venue without any mainstream radio support. Stirling has more than 2 million YouTube subscribers, a sold-out European tour and has sold 108,000 copies of her self-titled, self-released album. Carter:

By looking at the numbers, automatically you could see this girl knew how to move the needle and understood YouTube was a venue to engage fans both online and offline.

Several companies had approached Stirling about representation:

After every other meeting I remember feeling so confused. But with Atom Factory, they were up to date on current things and trying new stuff all the time, and I felt so creatively alive when I met with them.

10 Jan, 2014

Hires Carter as manager

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Mayer hires Carter as his manager, the first time Carter’s will work with a major rock artist. A source says they met through mutual friends:

It’s just getting started but great new things will be announced as the year progresses.

5 Mar, 2014

Named co-presidents

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Erving and Stiklorius are named co-presidents of Atom Factory by Carter. Carter:

J and I have a long history, dating back to 2000 when we co-founded Erving Wonder Management. He has proven to be an exceptional deal maker and music manager. Ty has been an incredible addition to the team.  Her strategic thinking and creativity has given the company and our clients a tremendous amount of added value.  I’m looking forward to having the two of them help grow and scale our management business.

Erving:

Troy and I both grew up in Philly and have been friends since early on in our careers. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and what he has accomplished, and I am looking forward to adding value to the Atom Factory platform; whether it is in branding, technology, or management.

Stiklorius:

Atom Factory provides an innovative and creative platform for artists to thrive in, and I am pleased to partner with Troy and J to help lead the company in continuing to push the boundaries of what a forward-thinking artist management company can be.

6 Jun, 2016

Joins Spotify

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Carter is hired by Spotify to be the Global Head of Creative Services. As part of the transition, Carter will also step away from managing Meghan Trainor,

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.