The Rise of Latin Music in the U.S
It is no secret that Latin music has become more popular than ever in the U.S. Bad Bunny, Becky G and J Balvin are some of the biggest Latin artists at the moment, but what PR tactics lead to the emergence of Latin music's cross-over to the U.S market?
Latin music dates back to the 1930s with rumba and 1960s with salsa coming mainly from Cuba and Puerto Rico and crossing over to New York as just simply 'Latin dance music.' Latin music was only listened to among small Hispanic communities and was never recognized in award shows or as mainstream music, and was never topping on any charts.
Although Latin music had been listened to in the U.S for years, Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber's, 2017 remix to 'Despasito' is considered Latin music's "breakthrough moment". 'Despasito' dominated the U.S charts and led to what Billboard calls 'the Despasito effect.' After the release of 'Despasito' six out of 10 of Youtube's most-watched music videos in 2017 were of song's from Latin artists; Daddy Yankee become the first latino to become Spotify's most listened to artist in June of 2017, Latin music revenues grew by 37%, consumption of Latin music grew by 15% and even tourism in Puerto Rico grew by 45%.
Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee - Despacito (Remix) (Official Audio) ft. Justin Bieber
Since then, many cross-over collaborations have contributed to the continuous growth of Latin music in the U.S, including 'Mi Gente' by J Balvin and Beyonce, 'Tusa' by Karol G and Nicki Minaj, 'Mia' by Bad Bunny and Drake, and 'Hawái' by Maluma and The Weeknd. These collaborations are all part of a PR tactic that has led to the constant exposure of Latin music among the U.S market.
Latin music's most recent album' Trap Cake, Vol. 2' by Rauw Alejandro came with its own set of PR tactics. Not only did Alejandro collaborate with huge American rappers like Future and Ty Dolla Sign, but he and his team had a few other tricks up their sleeve (literally).
Alejandro's merch store 'Zorro Stuff' launched shortly before they released the album and released a series of limited edition merch launches before and after its release. His first launch sold out within hours, and his limited edition 'Trap Cake' hoodies in collaboration with Nude Projects sold out in minutes. After the release of the album, cake-themed food trucks drove around several cities handing out cupcakes in celebration of the release. Then came his latest merch drop thus far, the official album merch. This merch comes with a special QR code on the sleeves that allows buyers to scan the merch piece itself to watch an exclusive 'baking of the album' video that gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at what the process of 'baking' the album was like. Merch, promo, and graphics are all centered around the theme of the album, cake! And who doesn't love cake? Not only that, but fans are also able to DM a picture of this QR code to the official Zorro Stuff Instagram to be placed on their private story.
Latin music has become so big that artists like Bad Bunny have begun to win awards from the American version of the Grammy's and the American Music Awards, are topping countless U.S charts, are being played on radio stations all over the country and we have even begun seeing latino's headlining Super Bowl half-time shows.
Bio: Ariana Cornejo is a marketing and public relations student at California State University Northridge, set to graduate in August 2022. Having a strong passion for the Latin music industry, she has implemented herself in initiatives that will give her the experience she needs to work in the industry after graduating. She has worked at online media company Sweety High for over a year promoting Spotify playlists and artists Jena Rose and Gunnar Ghel and currently interns at Santa Cruz Communications, where she is working target media lists, influencer activations and drafting press releases for the 2022 Latin American Music Awards (Latin AMA's).