Roberto Mancinelli (born 12 June 1970 inBenevento) is an ItalianA&R executive, record producer and writer.
Throughout his career, he worked with many Italian artists likeFranco Battiato,[1]Gianna Nannini,Vinicio Capossela,Laura Pausini,Irene Grandi,Paolo Conte,Mina,Adriano Celentano,PFM,Nomadi, andNek.
Born inBenevento, Mancinelli grew up inCastelvenere. In 1988 he made his radio debut, working at Radio Telesia. A year later he moved to Bologna, where he attendedDAMS [it] at theUniversity of Bologna.[2] While a student, he worked as a DJ in some local venues and started collaborating with Punto Radio, Telemontecarlo and Videomusic.[2] In 1991 he became music programming manager atRadio Kiss Kiss and moved toNapoli.[3] In 1993 he moved back to Bologna, and the following year he started writing reviews for the music magazineRockstar.[2]
1995 saw his debut in the recording industry: he started working in the promotion department of Flying Records. In 1996 he became the A&R of CGD.[4] In 2000 he became A&R of S4 Records. In 2002 he founded another label, C&C Progetti Discografici.[4] In 2006, along with Fabio Canino, he wroteRaffabook, dedicated to Italian singer, actress and television presenterRaffaella Carrà.[5]Since 2007 he has been the A&R ofSony/ATV Music Publishing Italy. In the following years he worked withGianna Nannini,Giovanni Caccamo,[2]Sonohra, Karima,Nek,Virginio.[6][7]In 2014 he moved to New York City, where he acts as Consultant Italian Portfolio for Sony/Atv.[8][9][10]In 2015 he won the prestigious FIM Award.[11]
In 2017 he founded the record label I Mean Music & Management.[12] The first artist produced by the label is the young singer-songwriter Braschi, who took part at theSanremo Music Festival 2017 in the "Nuove Proposte" section, with the song "Nel Mare Ci Sono I Coccodrilli".[13][14]
In October 2017 he joinedSugar Music Publishing's team, signingAlessandra Flora – one among the most prominent new songwriters in Italy whose songs appear onGianni Morandi,Raf,Malika Ayane andNina Zilli.[15]