Kobalt Music Appoints Rani Hancock as Executive Vice President
Kobalt Music has appointed Rani Hancock as executive vice president and head of creative in the U.S., reporting to Jeannette Perez, president and chief commercial officer of Kobalt.
Rani Hancock’s Background and Experience
Hancock joins Kobalt from Columbia Records where she served as executive vice president and head of A&R. During her tenure at Columbia, she collaborated with artists including Dove Cameron, Maren Morris and JoJo Siwa. Previously, as Executive Vice President of A&R at RCA Records, she was instrumental in signing several popular artists such as Miley Cyrus, Kesha, and Becky G, in addition to overseeing projects for Pitbull and Britney Spears.
Her career accomplishments include contributions to six No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, three No. 1 albums, and 17 top 20 Billboard Hot 100 singles. While serving as President of Sir Records, she signed artists Bryce Vine and Cavetown, and was the executive producer of the film’s Golden Globe-nominated soundtrack USA vs Billie Holiday.
Hancock began her career in the music industry working with Clive Davis at Arista Records before joining the founding team of J Records. She holds a degree in Music Production and Engineering from Berklee College of Music.
Commenting on her appointment, Hancock stated: “Joining Kobalt is an incredible opportunity to be part of a company that truly values songwriters, artists, and producers.”
“Rani is a creative leader who has always considered the songwriter to be a fundamental player in our business. This perspective, along with her extensive experience in our business, embodies the type of leadership and creative acumen that makes her the ideal leader to guide our US creative team moving forward.”
Laurent Hubert, Kobalt Music
“Laurent and Jeannette have created an incredible team and a culture of creativity and innovation. I’m incredibly excited to work alongside them to promote the next generation of creative talent. Kobalt’s commitment to empowering artists aligns perfectly with my own values, where great songs and great songwriters always come first. I can’t wait to contribute to their continued success.”
Laurent Hubert, CEO of Kobalt, stated: “Rani is a creative leader who has always considered the songwriter to be a fundamental player in our business. This perspective, along with her extensive experience in our business, embodies the type of leadership and creative acumen that makes her the ideal leader to guide our US creative team moving forward.”
Kobalt Music presents over 1 million songs and collaborates with songwriters including Roddy Ricch, Max Martin, Karol G, Stevie Nicks, and Paul McCartney. The company represents more than 35% of the top 100 songs and albums in the US and UK markets.
With 13 offices worldwide, Kobalt utilizes technology to streamline music publishing management. Through their digital music collecting society AMRA, Kobalt aims to “maximize value for songwriters and publishers” in the current digital landscape.
This appointment occurs as Kobalt expands its partner network. In November, Kobalt invested in a music licensing platform Slipstream and formed collaborations with a global publishing administration company.
In September, Kobalt partnered with the blockchain-based music platform Audius to provide songwriters signed to Kobalt with access to a potential new revenue stream through Audius‘ decentralized market. Kobalt has also teamed up with the AI-powered music financing platform beatBread, offering artists funded through BeatBread access to Kobalt’s publishing administration services.
Lucas focuses on the interaction between music and society. He specializes in how music influences and reflects cultures, analyzing the role of sound in social, political, and cultural events around the world.
