Katy Perry and Bradford Cobb
Meet Bradford Cobb (BA English ’96), partner with Direct Management Group and manager for one of the biggest names in music, Katy Perry.
Colby Kullman
Cobb is quick to credit one professor in particular who served a key role in both his education and career path. “Dr. Colby Kullman had a huge impact,” Cobb says. “He really helped me develop writing skills and see the bigger picture by opening my eyes to new ideas and possibilities. You have teachers willing to go the extra mile for you, and he went the extra mile for me.”
After Cobb moved to Los Angeles and worked with The B-52s and The Go-Go’s, another UM connection, multiple Grammy award-winning songwriter Glenn Ballard (B.A. music ’75), introduced him to Perry. Cobb will never forget the first time he met Katy in his office, when she was a young, energetic 19-year-old bursting with personality.
“She just blew past the receptionist and did cartwheels down the hallway, landing in the splits in my office,” Cobb says, laughing. “That was her greeting on her first visit to Direct Management. She’s got an incredible sense of humor and personality.”
Ballard could not be more proud of the success Perry and Cobb have shared. “When I sort of paired him and Katy together, I thought that it could work—and boy was I right,” says Ballard. “Signing Katy and then getting him involved … if I ever did two things right, that was the two of them right there. I’m just so proud of everything that’s happening with them.”
Read Cobb’s story online courtesy of the Ole Miss Alumni Review>>