56 BILLBOARD • OCTOBER 12, 2019
LATIN POWER PLAYERS 2019
tours, as well as those of longtime client An-
thony. Last year, Anthony signed a $160 mil-
lion multiyear, international touring deal with
CMN (in conjunction with management
company Magnus Media), perhaps the most
lucrative touring deal ever for a Latin artist.
A typical weekend for Cárdenas in Sep-
tember included regional Mexican giants
Banda MS performing at New York’s Madison
Square Garden and Maluma playing Los An-
geles’ Forum, as well as concerts by tropical
star Silvestre Dangond in Montréal; Nicky
Jam in McAllen, Texas; and Turizo in Mexico.
As for Cárdenas, he was in his hometown
of Cali, Colombia, where he produced a
stadium show by Mexican diva Ana Gabriel
and, the next day, he attended the ground-
breaking ceremony for a new facility at Casita
de Belén, an organization for at-risk children
and families in one of Cali’s poorest areas.
The facility was financed by Maestro Cares,
the foundation Cárdenas created in 2012 with
Anthony that to date has financed 16 facilities
in Latin America and one in the United States.
“I never knew what a foundation was,
what philanthropy was,” says Cárdenas.
“When you’re young, all you want to do is
get ahead and receive. But I’m at a stage
where I know I have to give back.”
Maestro Cares raises money through an
annual gala (this year, that event brought in
$1.8 million) and through all CMN shows,
which donate $1.50-$2 per ticket to the
foundation. But increasingly, “my mission
is to involve others, especially artists,”
says Cárdenas, who also works closely in
his foundation projects with his concert
promotion partners in different countries.
For example, he has partnered with UNICEF
and Bad Bunny’s foundation, Good Bunny,
to rebuild baseball fields in Puerto Rico that
Hurricane Maria destroyed.
“Before, the only artist who contributed
was Marc Anthony,” says Cárdenas. “And
I thought, ‘I have all these contacts. Why
don’t I motivate them?’ Many people want
to help, but they just don’t know how.”
While Maestro Cares is mostly focused
on improving conditions for children in Latin
America and the Caribbean, Cárdenas’ big-
gest concern at the moment is the immigra-
tion crisis in the United States, where he has
lived since he left Siloé, one of Cali’s most
notorious slums, to come live with an uncle
in Chicago when he was only 16 years old.
“From conversations of building a wall to
the separation of families — these are crit-
ical issues influencing the music industry,”
he says, noting that concert attendance has
been affected as regional Mexican audienc-
es shy away from gatherings that immigra-
tion officials could target.
“The political language of discrimination
and fear, along with negative news coverage,
is creating an environment of uncertainty,”
he says. “Naturally, the Latin community is
apprehensive. [But] I have high hopes this
will change. Music is an art form that helps
bring us all together. It encourages unity and
inspires harmony in our communities.”
MUSIC GROUPS
Jesús López
Chairman/CEO
UNIVERSAL MUSIC LATIN AMERICA & IBERIAN PENINSULA
Victor González
President
UNIVERSAL MUSIC LATIN ENTERTAINMENT
Alejandro Duque
Managing director
UNIVERSAL MUSIC LATINO, MACHETE MUSIC, CAPITOL LATIN
Antonio Silva
Managing director
FONOVISA DISA USA/MEXICO
López and his team have seen J Balvin become a
global phenomenon with over 55 million monthly
listeners on Spotify, according to the streaming
service. López also helped engineer Balvin and
Bad Bunny’s Oasis, which reigned on Billboard’s
Top Latin Albums list for eight total weeks. Now
he’s betting big on female artists, from Chile’s alt
queen Mon Laferte, a top touring act in Mexico,
to Colombia’s Karol G, whose albums Unstoppa-
ble and Ocean both have reached No. 2 on Top
Latin Albums. Universal’s Global Talent Services
co-manages Karol G and Balvin, and fully man-
ages Sebastián Yatra, who is “leading the charge
for Latin pop’s global comeback,” says López.
Duque, 36, adds Greeicy to the list of rising Latin
pop stars he cites on his roster. Overseeing the
United States and Mexico, González, 53, says his
labels are tapping some 30 different producers
to drive artist development. Silva, 54, counts El
Bebeto and Christian Nodal as leading region-
al Mexican artists who are making an impact
around the world. “Central America is seeing the
genre thrive, among other places,” he says.
Afo Verde
Chairman/CEO
SONY MUSIC LATIN IBERIA
Alex Gallardo
President
SONY MUSIC U.S. LATIN
Verde, 52, reports that Sony’s Latin labels are
working more closely than ever with The Or-
chard, Sony’s distribution, sales and marketing
division, to drive success for the likes of Ozuna
(Billboard’s Top Latin Artist of 2018), Anuel AA
and Natti Natasha. The collaboration has boosted
the market share of both Sony Music U.S. Latin
and The Orchard. “It’s a labor of brotherhood
and companionship,” says the artist-minded
Verde, who also has worked hand in hand with
Columbia Records in developing Spain’s Rosalía,
whose album El Mal Querer reached No. 1 on
the Latin Pop Albums chart. Verde also has been
developing his company’s in-house theaters and
studios. Gallardo, 44, rose from senior vp A&R
to president of Sony Music U.S. Latin in Janu-
ary, securing Sony’s relationships with Farruko,
Paloma Mami and Camilo — “who is making big
noise with his new music.” Verde has partnered
with Cirque du Soleil on a new show inspired
by Argentine soccer great Leo Messi, for which
Gallardo will be the music supervisor.
Iñigo Zabala
President, Latin America and Iberia
WARNER MUSIC
Gabriela Martinez
Senior vp marketing
WARNER MUSIC LATIN AMERICA
GM
WARNER MUSIC LATINA
Under Zabala, Warner has nurtured rising talent
from Latin America like Argentine trap artist
Paulo Londra (signed in 2018), whose debut
album, Homerun, had a “remarkable” show-
ing, says Zabala, with 92 million on-demand
streams, according to Nielsen Music, and three
entries on Hot Latin Songs. Collaborating with
the likes of Ed Sheeran and A Boogie Wit Da
Hoodie, Londra proves how Warner is “ex-
panding our A&R in every market,” says Zabala,
who opened new affiliate offices in Peru. “Latin
music is having a golden era, and we are ex-
panding our A&R in every market. It highlights
our confidence in the business.” Martinez points
out Anitta’s global reach beyond her Brazilian
fan base, calling her “one of the most hard-
working and ambitious artists. She’s a force to
be reckoned with in the Latin space, and the
release of her album Kisses shows we are on the
right path.”
LABELS
Tomas Cookman
President/CEO
NACIONAL RECORDS/INDUSTRIA WORKS
Continuing his career-long focus on alternative
Latin music, Cookman, 59, has staffed up his
labels to promote his artists worldwide. “Hearing
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs’ ‘Matador’ in Japan and
Greece” were transcendent experiences, he says.
“Having a well-planned global presence is key to
our long-term growth.” This summer, Cookman
produced the 20th-anniversary edition of the
multivenue Latin Alternative Music Conference
in New York.
Jimmy Humilde
Founder/CEO
RANCHO HUMILDE
“Rancho Humilde has given a voice to the young
Mexican-American generation,” says Humilde,
39, who has released music by such artists as
Legado 7, Arsenal Efectivo, Fuerza Regida and
Herencia de Patrones, giving a refreshing twist
to the regional Mexican scene. “We have our
own hip-hop, our own reggaeton, our own trap,”
says Humilde of the new wave of urban regional
Mexican acts. “We created our own sound.”
Franklin Martinez
President/CEO
CARBON FIBER MUSIC
Martinez, 37, co-founded Carbon Fiber Music
with Latin urban singer Farruko, who helped pro-
pel Pedro Capó’s “Calma” to No. 3 on Hot Latin
Songs. “To manage an artist like Farruko from day
one is a great achievement,” he says. “I’ve never
worked with artists who have an established ca-
reer; rather, I develop them. That is why my label
grows as my artists grow.”
Duque
Zabala
F. Martinez
Silva
G. Martinez
González
López
Gallardo
Humilde
Verde
Cookman
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Note: Profile subjects whose ages are not included declined to provide them.