Sunday, March 2, 2008

Univision deal ups Universal's Latin-market clout

http://entertainews.blogspot.com


By Leila Cobo


MIAMI (Billboard) -
Sometime in the coming months, a single
music label, Universal Music, will control almost half of the
U.S. Latin music marketplace.

The shift follows Universal's agreement to acquire
Univision Music Group, the leading Latin music company in the
United States. Univision, whose holdings include Univision
Records, Fonovisa, Disa and La Calle, has a 35.9 percent share
of the U.S. Latin market, according to Nielsen SoundScan
year-end numbers. No other label has had that kind of
market-share clout in the Latin realm.

Univision Music Group was put up for sale last year, after
Univision Communications was acquired by a private investor
group.

Universal quickly emerged as the front-runner on a list of
candidates; in addition to the Univision distribution deal,
Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Doug Morris and
president/COO Zach Horowitz have long expressed an interest in
the burgeoning Latin marketplace and made strides to develop
business in that market.

Universal/Univision talks stalled in past months, sources
say, over discussions on the promotional role to be played by
the Univision TV networks. Under the final agreement, the
Univision networks will continue to provide promotional airtime
to Universal artists, much in the way they did with Univision
artists.

Founded by CEO Jose Behar in 2001, Univision Music has been
the longtime U.S. Latin market-share leader. Previously head of
EMI Latin, Behar was hired by former Univision Communications
CEO Jerry Perenchio to create a music division as part of
Univision's media empire. Behar built the company from scratch,
signing new and established acts and, later, acquiring leading
indie Fonovisa Records, a regional Mexican music powerhouse. To
this day, Univision's top sellers are in the regional Mexican
realm.

In turn, Universal's forte has long been its pop division,
with stars like Juanes, Enrique Iglesias and Paulina Rubio.
More recently, the company has become an urban music leader via
its upstart label Machete Music, whose roster includes
reggaeton duo Wisin & Yandel.

Universal's Latin operations are overseen worldwide by
Jesus Lopez, chairman/CEO of Latin America and Iberian
Peninsula. An industry veteran who has focused on restructuring
his companies' operations and who is developing new business
models, Lopez will now oversee the joint worldwide operations
of the two labels. Univision will continue to be run by Behar
until the acquisition is complete.

Reuters/Billboard

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