Troy Carter’s Q&A Reveals Partnership With Warner Music to Help ‘Upstream Independent Artists’
Troy Carter continues to make moves with Q&A, the music and tech venture he co-founded in April.
Troy Carter continues to make moves with Q&A, the music and tech venture he co-founded in April. After announcing a partnership with Sony/ATV in May, the company has now revealed the details of a pact with Warner Music under the label’s CEO Max Lousada.
The under-the-radar partnership was first reported by Music Business Worldwide. Q&A, which prides itself on an artist-as-entrepreneur ethos, intends to use the deal to “upstream” independent artists who still want to release their music through a major label.
“At Q&A we understand the importance of taking a diversified approach to an artist’s career and we’ve built an offering that has the ability to scale to accommodate those unique needs,” stated Carter, who also now serves as Q&A’s CEO. “After speaking with Max, it is clear that we are aligned on the mission to maximize our ability to impact an artist’s career.
“Having a partnership with WMG allows us to upstream independent artists that are looking to release through a major label system,” he continued, “therefore, enabling us to continue to add value at every stage of their career.”
Trending on Billboard
Co-founded by Carter alongside J. Erving and Suzy Ryoo, with Tim Luckow serving as chief product officer, the Los Angeles-based Q&A provides distribution, management, label services and data analytics for artists. It covers Erving’s digital distribution and label services business Human Re Sources under its umbrella, with a roster including recent signees Pink Sweat$ and Baby Rose.
“We’re building an environment at Warner that amplifies true originality and backs creative risk-takers. That includes bringing dynamic entrepreneurs like Troy into our orbit, giving them access to a global network, and empowering their independent visions,” added Lousada. “Q&A’s artist centric approach will make this a very natural, seamless collaboration, as we work together to develop bespoke strategies for a diverse group of extraordinary talent.”
The new pact comes on the heels of a freshly-signed worldwide deal for Sony/ATV to administer Q&A’s music publishing catalog. Shortly after, Q&A bolstered its ranks hiring former Spotify and Facebook execs Phillip Eubanks and Marc Hemeon, respectively. (Carter, for his part, previously served as Spotify’s global head of creator services.)