For the first time ever, Puerto Rico will become the capital of Latin music when the 21st edition of the Billboard Latin Music Conference kicks off in San Juan today, culminating with the Billboard Latin Music Awards to be held on Thursday at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Hato Rey.
During the event — the largest gathering of the Latin music industry in the United States (and probably the world) — numerous Latin music stars, high-ranking recording label execs, award-winning songwriters, industry insiders and specialized media outlets will converge to honor artists and discuss everything from new online marketing strategies to the evolution of the Latin urban movement.
As in previous editions, one of the key speakers and moderators of the event will be Leila Cobo, Executive Editor for Latin Content and Programming for Billboard and coordinator of the Billboard Latin Music Conference.
This year, she’ll sit down on one-on-one interviews with merengue star Elvis Crespo to talk about the state and evolution of tropical music; the CEO of Universal Music Latin America Jesús López, who’ll offer his views on the state of today’s Latin music industry and where it is headed and salsa/pop star Marc Anthony, who’ll talk about his newest film projects, philanthropy, his upcoming new album and the Miami Dolphins. She’ll also interview the top-selling urban bachata group, Aventura.
Cobo, a Fulbright scholar who hails from Colombia, is also a writer. She recently published her debut novel “Tell Me Something True,” a story of two women — a mother and daughter — and the love affairs that changed their lives. Under Cobo’s tenure, Billboard has expanded its coverage of Latin music and even included a complete weekly section dedicated solely to the Latin global soundscape.
Last week, Cobo shared some insights into the Latin music industry with the Latin Music Examiner and the following is the complete Q&A.
1) Is there a fresh, new sound out there that represents the 2010 Latin music generation? It seems to me that, although still popular, reggaetón is not as powerful as it was before and actually has morphed into a whole new, electronica-driven genre that doesn’t sound at all to its rootsy original formula. What do you think will be the next hot Latin sound?
I really don’t see a concrete “next” sound. I think bachata has gained new life thanks to Aventura, and although no other bachata act comes even close to their success, there is renewed interest in the genre. What I do see is a growing Latin urban movement that is very different from the mainstream in that it is really a blend of pop (I guess a la Rihanna or Jay-Z), danceable, that blends a little of tradition—salsa, merengue, bachata—with reggaeton, R&B and other urban sounds. I hear it in acts like Aventura (again), Wisin y Yandel, Don Omar, Chino y Nacho now … that kind of thing is relatively new and beginning to work in and out of the U.S.
2) In your opinion, as a seasoned and respected Latin music industry insider, what’s the state of the Latin music industry internationally and where is it headed? (Considering the dramatic 360 degree shift in music-making that happened during the last decade as a result of the Internet and social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook, to cite a few.)
Well, on the one hand you don’t have that “crossover” boom that seemed to put Latin music on the world map 10 years ago. What we see now is perhaps a more organic acceptance of Latin music. Of course, there are acts like Shakira, who by now I consider completely mainstream, and then there are acts like Juanes, who are intrinsically Latin but well known outside his core audience. But these big crossover acts, with this big machinery behind them, I don’t see that happening anymore. Overall, Latin music has suffered greatly in this crisis, in part because our digital market has yet to catch up to the mainstream and because piracy is so rampant in Latin America. But at the same time I think audiences in general are more open to new sounds.
3) With so many talented up-and-coming Latin artists from every genre all over the place, why does it seem like only a few actually stand out from the pack today? Or those who do are actually seasoned Latin music stars who are reinventing themselves and reaching out to younger generations? (Many of these seem more like cookie-cutter performers and entertainers and less than true artists with composing or singing talents.)
I think media in general is terrible for developing acts. And in Latin media, the discrepancy is so glaring because there’s less outlets. Big TV shows are very very reluctant to open up to new, or different acts. And this is really a big shame. I roll my eyes every time I see these shows and they feature the same five names. So, if it appears that only a few stand out, perhaps that’s’ because the media only highlights those few. But believe me, there are more. I think it’s rather ironically humorous to hear people talking about Aventura — again — as if they were some new group who, out of nowhere, filled five Coliseos and four Madison Square Gardens, when in fact, thev’e been together for over a decade. But it took this long for media to notice. Something strange happens in the Latin realm: Artists first have to prove themselves and THEN get media, rather than the other way round.
4) Of these new breed of Latin music pop novelties (say, Kany García, Ana Isabelle, to cite only two), who do you think actually has a chance to reach international stardom?
I believe international stardom is next to impossible outside the Spanish speaking world if an artist sings in Spanish. If by “international stardom” you mean crossover success to the mainstream American market or Europe, that cannot happen at a large scale unless the artist sings in English. And quite frankly, I don’t think many of these artists are dying to sing in English either.
5) Calle 13 is in the process of crossing over into the U.S. Anglo market … do you think that in this day and age it’s still necessary to conquer U.S. audiences before crossing over the Atlantic to Europe and Asia? And why?
I was not aware that Calle 13 was doing this. Having said that, I think there’s no formula. I find that successful acts each chart their own path.
6) Is Latin music as a whole in a creative slump? — except of course, for some tropical genres such as bachata and merengue that are making a comeback.
I think it had a slump a couple of years ago, but there were great albums last year. I really don’t think the slump is creative; it’s an economical slump and as such it limits what acts can do. To me the issue, as far as creativity goes, is that album sales have gone down, but promotional and marketing costs have gone up. This is a bad combination and hinders music development.
7) Depending on how it goes this year production wise, do you think there’s a chance that the Billboard Latin Music Awards be held in Puerto Rico again next year or the year after?
I really can’t answer that. But I do think it was a great choice to come here in 2010. It’s a musical hotbed.
8) Aventura is arguably the hottest urban-tropical act today, why do you think that’s true?
Aventura is the top selling Latin act in the market today. They had the top selling album of 2009 and the top selling album so far in 2010. I think they’ve worked very hard, very steadily and have a sound all their own that appeals to many people, including a bicultural, bilingual audience.
9) Will all multinational record labels and CDs cease to exist? And if not, what do you think will keep them afloat or alive?
Not at all. I would say that the overwhelming majority of acts that are successful as independents used to be on a major label that nurtured them and spent huge sums of money in their development. That money allows them to survive as indies today. I do think labels are in the process of revisiting and changing the way they do business.
10) More and more veteran Latin (and U.S.) artists these days are breaking off their ties with their labels (the latest Jennifer López with Sony) and launching their own recording/marketing companies. Aside from giving them more creative freedom, do you think this trend has led (and will lead) to more organic, out-of-the-box, indie type of music from these artists?
Actually I don’t. And Jennifer López I believe (don’t quote me, because I’m not sure) has signed with another big label. As I said above, very few acts can pull this off.
11) Will there ever be a 100 percent Latin “American Idol”? Why hasn’t there been one in nearly a decade? By 100% Latin, do you mean singing in Spanish? Or simply Latin?
Singing in Spanish, it wont’ happen. It’s the U.S. And the language is English. And I see nothing wrong with that.
12) Do you think socially-conscious Latin artists should be allowed to perform in Cuba, and those who do then do it in Miami or elsewhere in the U.S.?
I think artists should perform wherever they want. It’s up to audiences if they want to see them or not. Having said that, artists who perform in Cuba are not automatically socially conscious. I really don’t understand how those two concepts became synonymous: Performs in Cuba = socially conscious? As a Colombian I have a real problem with that statement. It implies that to prove their good faith, artists need to visit Cuba. Why? There is a ton of socially conscious work to be done all over Latin America and there are tons of socially conscious acts who do good works every day, but perhaps don’t spend all their time publicizing it.
14) How important do you think is the Puerto Rican music market to Billboard and the U.S. Latin music scene?
Extremely important. Puerto Rico is still a market that sells music and that breaks acts. Many labels actively work Puerto Rico first as part of their strategic plan for an artist. Luis Enrique is a great example.
15) Do you think that if Ricky Martin had come out of the closet a decade ago when he was riding a wave of success with “Livin’ la vida loca” it would have deeply affected his career in terms of album sales?
Impossible to say …
16) What’s the toughest part of producing/hosting the Billboard Awards? Any funny or odd anecdotes from previous shows that you can share with the PR audience?
Mm. I gotta think about this one!
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