Mel Carter (born January 14, 1985) is an American businessman and music executive, originally from Trinidad and Tobago.Executive Spotlight: Mel Carter, SVP Of A&R At Republic Records, Wants To Inspire Young Black Executives at Forbes; by Rianna Turner; published October 29, 2020; retrieved December 2, 2024 He is the former Senior Vice President of A&R at Republic RecordsRepublic Records Names Mel Carter Senior VP of A&R at Variety; published November 18, 2019; retrieved December 2, 2024Executive Turntable: Republic Loses A&R SVP to Restaurant Biz; UnitedMasters Hires 6 Execs at Billboard; by Chris Eggertsen; published September 23, 2022; retrieved December 2, 2024 and is the founder of Second Estate Records,Mel Carter moves forward while looking back at Amsterdam News; by Karen Juanita Carrillo; published July 12, 2023; retrieved December 2, 2024 a record label distributed by Warner Records since 2022.WARNER RECORDS SETS JOINT VENTURE WITH MEL CARTER’S SECOND ESTATE RECORDS at Warner Music Group; published October 3, 2022; retrieved December 2, 2024
Carter is the owner of a franchise development company, Melanbo, which has acquired dozens of Bojangles fast food franchises across the United States with Kevin "Coach K" Lee.Quality Control’s Coach K And Music Exec Mel Carter Strike Historic Deal As Bojangles Owners at Vibe Magazine; by Armon Sadler; published December 2, 2022; retrieved December 2, 2024Coach K & Mel Carter to Build 14 New Atlanta Bojangles Restaurants at Empower Atlanta Magazine; published December 12, 2022; retrieved December 2, 2024 He is the co-host of the finance-based podcast called “Business Untitled” with Mike Novogratz and Dave Barry.
Personal life Carter was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago to Clifton Carter and Stacy Jenkinson. He emigrated with his mother and sister to the United States in 1997, settling in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Between the 7th grade and 10th grade, Carter was kicked out of four different schools before ultimately dropping out. Carter has one child, a daughter born in 2006. He has one sister.
Career Music industry Carter began his career as a talent manager for artists that were later signed to Republic Records, Atlantic Records, Roc Nation, and Interscope. Carter is the Founder of Hikari-Ultra, a joint venture with Republic Records that discovered the music group City Morgue. In 2018, Carter began working with Republic Records, as Senior Vice President of A&R, overseeing the Hikari-Ultra imprint. He was the first Senior Vice President of Republic Records without a high school diploma.Without a College Education, Mel Carter Used Life Lessons and People Skills to Become a Successful Music Exec at Black Enterprise; by Cedric Thornton; published September 21, 2020; retrieved December 2, 2024
Carter exited Republic Records in October 2022 to launch a label, Second Estate Records, which is distributed by Warner Records.
Other ventures Carter is the owner of the franchise development company, Melanbo. Quality Control Music’s founder and COO, Kevin Lee, is an investor in Melanbo.Coach K and Mel Carter now own the largest Black-owned franchise at Bojangles at Revolt; by Kevin Keise; published December 2, 2022; retrieved December 2, 2024 The group has acquired more than 32 Bojangles fast food franchise stores.How Music Executive Mel Carter Added Fifth Largest Bojangles Franchisee In History To His Resume at Afro Tech; by Samantha Dorisca; published October 26, 2022; retrieved December 2, 2024 Carter is a former investor in Nas’ restaurant group, Sweet Chick, but later sold his shares due to conflict of interest with Bojangles. Carter co-founded Adansonia in 2023, a real estate firm focused on developing affordable housing in the New York tri-state area. Carter is the co-host of a finance-based podcast called “Business Untitled” with Mike Novogratz,Galaxy Digital CEO Michael Novogratz Says Hard Assets Key For Building Wealth For Those in 30s And 40s: 'I Still Like Bitcoin' at Benzinga.com; published April 11, 2024; retrieved December 2, 2024 founder of the technology-financial services firm Galaxy Digital, and real estate developer Dave Barry.Board of Trustees David Barry, Co-Chair at Liberty Science Center; retrieved December 2, 2024
References