A Post-‘Despacito’ World: Latin’s Live Explosión! Music’s Global Reach Stages Bigger, Bolder Future

Theo Wargo / Getty Images – the F.A.M.E. Monstruo:
The widening international touring profile of acs such as Latin urban star Maluma – with iconic stars like Madonna personally reaching out – positions the diverse genre at a whole new level with a U.S. population of Latinos leading a trillion dollar purchasing power and growing. Here, Maluma performs during the MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on Aug. 20, 2018, in New York.

J Balvin’s Vibras Tour, Maluma’s F.A.M.E. Tour and the Smoke Me Out Tour featuring the L.A.-based Humilde Records roster of young regional Mexican acts are just some of this year’s massive Latin tours that have helped slake the growing Latin market’s thirst for bigger and bolder live entertainment.

Latin consumers are a major economic force to be reckoned with, making up some 57 million in the U.S., with a median age of 27, a median household income of $50,000 and $1.5 trillion in purchasing power, according to a Nielsen.

They want unforgettable experiences and fork out millions of dollars at live events on everything from VIP and bottle services to merch and high-end food. This as Latin urban helps lead the live touring scene, rife with superstar cross-collaborations this year that included Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and Janet Jackson expanding their musical footprints with counterparts J Balvin, Luis Fonsi, and Daddy Yankee, respectively. These mainstream artists are increasingly partnering with Latin acts more than ever which coincides with Latin’s worldwide streaming reach.

The aforementioned Maluma, for example, has an average tour gross of some $538,813 according to Pollstar Boxoffice reports over the last 36 months. This includes sellouts at Madison Square Garden ($1.24 million gross), American Airlines Arena in Miami ($1.07 million) and two Forum shows in Inglewood, Calif., earlier this year ($2.31 million). Just two years ago he was playing smaller shows.

We are now a post-“Despacito” world as industry heads turn and more fans take another look at the Latin entertainment space. Latin urban music’s rise is maintained with the support of labels such as Universal Music Latin Entertainment working with acts beyond the recording studio.

Colombian rock star Juanes, for example, signed deals through GTS, the management division of Universal Music that positions the label to co-manage artists in a collaborative way. In Juanes’ case, the June deal includes his manager Rebeca Leon’s Lionfish Entertainment. She has also managed the Medellin-born J Balvin’s career since 2014.

Other urban stars gaining traction include Ozuna, Natti Natasha, and Becky G, who also go far beyond the U.S. on tours and shows to highlight their brand of urban music that’s getting unprecedented attention around the world.

The success of other genres includes a strong showing from pop music acts such as Camila and Sin Bandera, who joined forces this year on their 4 Latidos Tour (4 Heartbeats). And in Mexican music, Banda MS has shown that its youthful, fresh and energetic shows are triggering fans to buy tickets.

“Latin pop music is still very much alive,” says David West, president of Westwood Entertainment, the L.A.-based company that books hundreds of shows each year in Latin America, Spain and the U.S. “On the live side the tour between Camila and Sin Bandera is the biggest we’ve done in terms of gross sales.”

By the time the tour is done, West says, the 4 Latidos Tour will reach 60 million in gross ticket sales with about 1 million people seeing the show in 12 countries. And with that, the jet-setting executive declares, “Pop is still alive!”

The current Latin music shift has been felt before and major tours have followed: Gloria Estefan in the ‘80s; Ricky Martin in the ‘90s; and Maná, which is set to announce a 2019 tour after this year’s Latin Grammy Person of the Year tribute.

Likewise, Maluma, whom Madonna embraced backstage in August at the VMAs, is not only getting more music and pop culture kudos, but his touring portfolio is growing quickly.

His 2018 arena tour drew 194,934 fans to 24 performances, grossing $18.2 million, according to box office reports submitted to Pollstar.

Theo Wargo / Getty Images – J Balvin, Cardi B, And Bad Bunny
perform at the 2018 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Oct. 9 in Los Angeles, demonstrating the mainstream appeal of Latin music.

The diversity and popularity of the genre – often seen as exclusive to Latinos – has always reached fans globally, but today, Apple Music, Spotify and Pandora’s digital breadth has helped drive music to more people, amping up spins and ticket sales.

With that younger median age of 27, according to Nielsen, Hispanic consumers in the U.S. are connected.

Those 18 years and older are 9 percent more likely to own a smartphone, 11 percent more likely to own a game console, and 13 percent more likely to own a smartwatch than non-Hispanic Whites.

“It’s been a great year in Latin music,” says Lazaro Megret, CEO of Latino Events Marketing Services based in El Paso, Texas. “We’re seeing tours in Latin urban trap leading the way with acts such as Maluma and Bad Bunny getting hits along with many others.”

Mexico’s Luis Miguel, Megret says, made for a “resurrection” of a pop star who staged a major return to music this year with a new album, a Netflix series based on his life (he served as an executive producer) and his Por Siempre tour in the U.S. and Mexico.

Regional Mexican music has continued with tours featuring several bands, such as Banda MS and the iconic Banda el Recodo, but also important to note, Megret says, is the passing of stars such as Juan Gabriel and Joan Sebastian in addition to the retirement of Vicente Fernandez – all whom were touring giants.

More rising female acts such as Natti Natasha from the Dominican Republic will continue to surface in 2019 and in the upcoming years, Megret says. He adds that Pepe Aguilar’s daughter Ángela Aguilar and Marco Antonio Solis’ daughter Beatriz Solis are also in musical momentums that positions them to grow and potentially develop into stronger touring acts.

One of the major keys to reaching this powerful demographic, according to Nielsen, is navigating the music trends and providing experiences that cater to their identity, language and culture.

Megret, who has worked with some of the industry’s biggest names, including Enrique Iglesias, stresses the importance of knowing this market and then “giving them what you promise.”