Reggaeton News:
And now, for the big time:
Is Reggaeton ready for Primetime?
©Barrio305.com
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Bryan Cannon had a nice morning routine. Everyday on his way to work he
would listen to Zeta Rock, the only Rock music station left on the Miami
radio dial. But like many others around the country, Bryan had a rude
awakening a couple of months ago when he woke up to the pounding beats
of the new sound in town: Reggaeton. For a bewildered
Bryan, this new trend remains something of a mystery. “Reggatoni?
What’s that some new kind of Italian food?” jokes the affable
South Miami landscaper.
But it is not a joke, at least not for the dozens
of radio stations who have abandoned their traditional programming and
adopted Reggaeton in the hopes of higher ratings. Nowadays,
everybody seems to be betting on Reggaeton. What was only until recently
an underground scene, has now become the darling of the music industry.
But who will reap the most rewards? The numbers of players are mind
boggling. On the one hand, you have traditional record labels like Sony
and Universal Latino. For the most part, these major labels have remained
content to license the global distribution rights from the artists.
And to the surprise of many have left the production side in the hands
of the savvy, small independent labels who make up the heart of Reggaeton.
Then you have the Latin powerhouses such as Univision
and Telemundo, who have a long standing tradition of “growing”
and grooming their own talent. For these companies the objective is
simple; create a “family friendly” version of Reggaeton
that appeals to the widest possible demographic. So far, their efforts
have failed. Unlike traditional pop starts, Reggaeton artists need to
have that particularly hard to manufacture trait: street credibility.
And thankfully, the public has been able to spot this “maleantes
de carton” (studio gansta‘s) from a mile away. For the time
being, it seems that Univision and Telemundo will stand by the likes
of original independent artists like Ivy Queen and Don Omar -- that
is, until they can come up with a successful “family friendly”
version of Reggaeton.
Add to the mix a new unexpected major player, Hip Hop impresarios such
as Source magazine and non other than the legendary Sean “P-Diddy”
Combs have anounced plans to launch their own Urban Latin music labels.
These new labels will more than likely count on the support of artists
like the up and coming Pitbul, Miami’s own spanglish superstar.
Howerver, the future of these labels remains uncertain, mainly because
most Puerto Rican Reggaeton artists prefer to stick with their smaller
local labels and while making lucrative distribution deals with the
big record companies.
Because of all this activity, the good old days when
a Reggaeton contract was made with nothing more than a handshake are
a thing of the past. But this is not a bad thing.
The true surprise in all of this, is that with so many players in the
field, the up and coming Reggaeton artist will have a varieity of outlets
from which to chose from. The smarter artists should be able to negotiate
from a position of advantage. In other words, they’ll be the ones
calling the shots.
Of course, in order for this to happen the Reggaeton
artist need to be financially astute. Which is already the case with
Julio Voltio and Tego Calderon, who have, by all accounts have demonstrated
their business savvy and avoided the usual trappings of the record industry.
” "Theses guys have learned vicariously from the experiences
of the early Hip Hop artists who were taken by their labels. That‘s
why you have to treat them with a lot respect, they know what’s
up" commented Barrio 305 founder, Antonio Otalvaro.
With any luck, up and coming artists should
get to do the music they want and rise above the formulaic dirge that
so often plagues an up an emerging music genre.
Barrio 305
©Barrio305.com
