Troy Carter To Leave Spotify

Troy Carter, the executive in charge of Spotify Technology SA’s artist relations, is leaving the company, Deadline has confirmed.

“By all measures, Troy has made a tremendous impact at Spotify,” co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ek said Monday in a statement to Deadline. “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.”

There had been speculation about Carter’s possible departure after he protested a short-lived rule that penalized musicians who were accused of domestic violence and talked openly with colleagues in the music industry about leaving, according to Bloomberg. Spotify named an executive overseeing Carter as chief content officer in late June. Carter will remain an adviser through the end of the year.

“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.”

Spotify has been moving further into the entertainment business, hiring veteran TV executive Dawn Ostroff as Chief Content Officer in late June. She begins her job in August.