Kobalt Music has named Rani Hancock as Executive Vice President and Head of US Creative, reporting to Jeannette Perez, Kobalt’s President and Chief Commercial Officer.
Hancock joins Kobalt from Columbia Records, where she served as Executive Vice President and Head of A&R. During her tenure at Columbia, she worked with artists including Dove Cameron, Maren Morris, and JoJo Siwa. Previously, as Executive Vice President of A&R at RCA Records, she signed several popular artists including Miley Cyrus, Kesha, and Becky G, while also overseeing projects for Pitbull and BritneySpears.
Her career achievements include A&R work on six #1 Billboard Hot 100 singles, three #1 Billboard Hot 100 albums, and 17 Billboard Hot 100 Top 20 singles. As President of Sire Records, she signed artists Bryce Vine and Cavetown, and executive produced the Golden Globe-nominated soundtrack for The United States vs. Billie Holiday.
Hancock began her music industry career working with Clive Davis at AristaRecords before joining the founding team at J Records. She holds a degree in Music Production and Engineering from Berklee College of Music.
Commenting on her appointment, Hancock said, “Joining Kobalt is an incredible opportunity to be part of a company that truly values songwriters, artists and producers.”
“Rani is a creative executive who has always looked at the songwriter as a foundational player in our business. That point of view, along with her vast experience in our business, embodies the kind of leadership and creative acumen that makes her the ideal leader to guide our US creative team moving forward.”
“Laurent and Jeannette have built an amazing team and a culture of creativity and innovation. I’m incredibly excited to work alongside them to champion 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, said, “Rani is a creative executive who has always looked at the songwriter as a foundational player in our business. That point of view, along with her vast experience in our business, embodies the kind of leadership and creative acumen that makes her the ideal leader to guide our US. creative team moving forward.”
Kobalt Music represents over 1 million songs and works with songwriters including Roddy Ricch, Max Martin, Karol G, Stevie Nicks, and Paul McCartney. The company said it represents over 35% of the top 100 songs and albums in both the US and UK markets.
The company operates across 13 global offices and uses technology to streamline music publishing administration. Through its digital music collection society AMRA, Kobalt says it aims to “maximize value for songwriters and publishers” in today’s digital age.
The appointment comes as Kobalt expands its partnership network. In November, Kobalt invested in music licensing platform Slipstream and partnered with the company on global publishing administration.
In September, Kobalt partnered with blockchain-powered music platform Audius to give Kobalt-signed songwriters access to a potential new revenue stream through Audius’ decentralized marketplace. Kobalt also teamed up with AI-driven music funding platform beatBread, which gives artists funded through beatBread access to Kobalt’s publishing administration services.
