Spotify hires star music manager Troy Carter to help fight Apple and Jay Z

Spotify is adding a new weapon in its fight against rivals like Apple, Google and Tidal: The company is hiring music manager Troy Carter, who will work with the streaming service to help land exclusive deals and create new content.

Carter's move to Spotify was first reported by Hits Daily Double, a music industry trade publication, which says that Carter will have a "high-ranking position" at Spotify.

Reached for comment, Carter called the Hits report "a bit of a premature leak" and referred me to Spotify's PR rep, who declined to comment.

UPDATE: Now Spotify has confirmed the hire. Carter will be "global head of creator services," which means he will work with musicians, songwriters and labels. He will report to Stefan Blom, Spotify's chief content and strategy officer.

While Spotify has a commanding lead in the streaming music race against the likes of Apple, one thing it doesn't have is a high-profile music industry insider to help it work with artists and their reps, as Apple does with Jimmy Iovine and Tidal does with owner Jay Z.

That might be useful to have, as the streaming industry looks like it is settling into a model where rival services will offer exclusive content (see: Tidal's deals with Beyonce and Kanye West, and Apple's deal with Drake).

Carter has already worked as a Spotify proxy, arguing against Taylor Swift's decision to keep her latest album off of Spotify.

Carter is best known as the manager who worked with Lady Gaga during that star's ascent; most recently he has been working with Meghan Trainor, as well as making investments in tech via his Atom Factory company. Among those investments: Spotify.