Grupo Arriesgado Agrees to Contract with Smart Music Group (SMG)

Posted on February 25, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Grupo Arriesgado has agreed to a smart deal…

The Mexican group has entered into a contract with Smart Music Group (SMG), per Billboard en Espanol.

Co-founders and artist managers, Raczon López and Natalia Corona — honorees on last year’s Billboard Latin Power Players list — have launched a new label focusing on the five-member band that’s currently gaining traction on social media.

Originally formed in late 2013 on a ranch named Costa Rica in Culiacán, Sinaloa, and initially led by former frontman turned soloist Panter Bélico, Grupo Arriesgado gained popularity with hits like the accordion-infused “Jimenez” (2021), “El H,” and “Enloquecido” (2022).

With César Alfonso stepping in as the new lead vocalist, they have secured significant radio play and impressive digital platform statistics, amassing 4.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify and maintaining a vigorous schedule of live performances.

Their digital presence is equally robust with 882,000 followers on Instagram, 1.1 million followers and 23.8 million likes on TikTok, and a strong YouTube following with 472,000 subscribers and over 600 million views.

Jesús Cuadras (electric bass), César Soto (bajo sexto), Alfonso Rodríguez (second voice) and Ángel de León (drums) also make up the band.

“Our relationship with Grupo Arriesgado began with the promotion of their three most recent releases, which allowed us to increase their audience on Spotify to almost 5 million monthly listeners and accumulate 35 million views on the main platforms,” López tells Billboard. “For this reason, the group wanted to take its relationship with Smart Music Group (SMG) to the next level and we have signed an agreement that makes us their representatives.”

He adds: “From now on, we will provide a comprehensive strategy that combines digital growth with presence in traditional media. This work will consolidate Grupo Arriesgado as one of the most important groups in Regional Mexican.”

López and Corona have recently managed the 2024 global breakout star Xavi, who topped Hot Latin Songs with “La Diabla” and secured the No. 2 spot with “La Víctima” on the same chart, and other notable achievements.

Under the pair’s management, Xavi also clinched the Artist of the Year (New) award at the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards. The duo also managed newcomer Drian.

With this new partnership, Grupo Arriesgado has embarked on a fresh phase with the release of “De Aquí Soy” (2025) and “Qué Chulada” (2024), two singles that mark a shift toward a more romantic and melodic style.

FloyyMenor Signs with Independent Artist Group for Booking

Posted on January 29, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

FloyyMenor has a new booking agent…

The 19-year-old Chilean singer and songwriter has signed with Independent Artist Group for booking.

The signing follows the huge success of FloyyMenor’s reggaeton hit “Gata Only” with Cris MJ, which was named TikTok’s Global Song of the Summer and Global Song of the Year in 2024.

According to a press release, the track saw 50 million creations on TikTok, generating more than 74 billion streams on the platform and 1.3 billion streams on Spotify; it also reached No. 2 on Spotify’s Global Chart.

“Gata Only” also had great success in the U.S., where it hit No. 27 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and topped Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart for 14 weeks. It finished at No. 1 on the year-end Hot Latin Songs list.

FloyyMenor’s breakthrough came in 2023 with the single “Pa la Europa.” That was followed by the August release of his debut EP El Comienzo, on which he partnered with UnitedMasters.

According to the release, the EP became the most-listened-to Chilean project in Spotify’s history and ranked among the top Spanish albums globally in 2024. In December, Spotify also named “Gata Only” the most-streamed Latin song of the year, while that same month, FloyyMenor was named one of VEVO’s DSCVR Artists to Watch 2025. “Gata Only” was also featured on former U.S. President Barack Obama’s “Favorite Music of 2024” list.

In October, FloyyMenor became the first Chilean artist to win a Billboard Latin Music Award, where he took home the Global 200 Latin song of the year. He also won top Latin song at the Billboard Music Awards for “Gata Only.”

FloyyMenor is set to release his debut album YTSQS later this year.

Bruno Mars Becomes First Artist to Reach 150 Million Monthly Listeners on Spotify

Posted on January 27, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Bruno Mars is officially a Spotify superstar…

The 39-year-old part-Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer’s is officially the first artist in Spotify history to reach 150 million monthly listeners, the streaming platform has announced.

Mars is currently the number one artist on Spotify.

The accomplishment comes shortly after he broke another Spotify record with his Lady Gaga collaboration, “Die With a Smile,” which became the fastest song to hit one billion streams in the platforms history.

Shortly after, his ROSÉ collaboration “APT.” also hit one billion streams, giving Mars the top two fastest songs to reach the milestone.

Overall, Mars has 17 songs with more than one billion Spotify streams, including “That’s What I Like,” “Locked Out of Heaven,” “Just the Way You Are” and more.

It’s been an exciting few months for Mars on the Billboard charts as well. “Die With a Smile” spends four weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, a full five months after the two pop superstars teamed up to drop the duet on August 16.

The track soon reached No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200, where it proceeded to spend eight weeks in the top spot. The swoon-worthy ballad is Gaga’s sixth Hot 100 leader and Mars’ ninth.

Meanwhile, “APT.” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, becoming the first song by a Western act to rule the Japan song chart in more than 11 years.

The song also spent 11 weeks atop both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. It also becomes the first No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart by an act prominent in K-pop.

Maria Becerra Announces Natanael Real & Armando Lozano as New Co-Managers

Posted on November 11, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Maria Becerra has new management.

The 24-year-old Argentine singer-songwriter, who has been dubbed as “a leading voice in Argentina’s urban pop movement,” will ] be co-managed by Natanael Real and veteran Mexican manager Armando Lozano after she parted ways amicable with longtime manager José Levy.

Real has been Becerra’s longtime day-to-day manager, while Lozano steps into a bigger role after working two years as a consultant for the artist for all territories outside Argentina.

“I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to María for placing her trust in me over nearly seven years, from the very beginning. It has been a true pleasure and honor to be part of her professional journey, and I wish her every success in this new chapter,” Levy told Billboard in a statement.

In turn, Lozano, who until recently also managed Mau & Ricky, said: “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to join María in this exciting new phase of her career. I am confident that remarkable achievements await her, further cementing her place as the global star she truly is.”

Added Real: “From the start, I’ve been inspired by María’s extraordinary talent and charisma. It is a privilege to support her in this new chapter and help her reach even greater heights.”

Becerra started her career as a YouTuber in her native Argentina as a tween, posting all kinds of content that included music covers.

By 17, she was focusing only on music and started working with Levy.

In 2021, at 21, she released her debut album, Animal via 300 Entertainment and earned a Latin Grammy nomination for best new artist.

In 2023, Becerra signed a deal with Warner Music Latina as a joint venture with 300 Entertainment, still managed by Levy, and also received the Visionary Award at Billboard’s inaugural Latin Women In Music event.

Becerra is in the midst of her first major U.S. tour and released new singles with Yandel (“El sexo está de moda”) and Gloria Trevi (“Borracha”), the latter which she performed at the Billboard Latin Music Awards in October.

She currently has 24 million monthly listeners on Spotify, making her 240 in the world on the platform.

Becerra has multiple entries on the Billboard charts, including two No. 1s on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart.

Miel San Marcos to Release Special Holiday-Themed ‘Spotify Singles’ Track “Emmanuel”

Posted on October 14, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Miel San Marcos is getting into the holiday spirit.

The Guatemalan Christian music group, comprised of three brothers Josh, Luis and Samy Morales, is among the artists releasing holiday songs this Christmas season on Spotify.

Miel San Marcos perform the single “Emmanuel” as part of the music streamer’s five Spotify Singles, which will be released at the stroke of midnight local time on Tuesday, October 15.

This year’s annual singles collection — which arrives a little earlier than usual this time — will feature four other artists and their covers of holiday tunes, including Kesha, Max Richter and Dasha.

The featured musicians and their yuletide songs are:

“Emmanuel” by Miel San Marcos
“Holiday Road” by Kesha
“Driving Home for Christmas” by Dasha
“River” by Max Richter
“Run Rudolph Run” by Mark Ambor

“As you’ll hopefully hear, each single really showcases the personality and style of each artist — often reinventing holiday classics in an entirely new way,” Talia Kraines, Spotify’s senior editor of pop, tells Billboard.

“With ‘Holiday Road,’ Kesha has taken this really fun ’80s song – which wasn’t originally a holiday song – and brought it to the modern day. We just knew she would sound amazing singing it, and she does. Her vocals make me think of The Go-Gos or The Bangles here. It feels like a monumental year for Kesha, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it – she’s reclaiming her joy and owning her own voice,” she adds of the Grammy nominated artist. “It also seemed fitting to have Kesha make a holiday song with us because her music actually hits a high each year on Spotify during the holiday season.

Tracks like ‘Tik Tok’ and ‘Timber’ have come to be known as New Year’s and celebration anthems.”

Latin Mafia Signs Exclusive Record Deal with Rimas Entertainment

Posted on July 7, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Latin Mafia has a new deal…

The Mexican act – consisting of brothers Milton, Emilio and Mike de la Rosa – has signed an exclusive record deal with Rimas Entertainment.

They join the label that’s home to Latin music stars Bad Bunny, Eladio Carrión and Arcángel, among others.

News of the group’s signing comes after they secured slots in global music festivals, including their U.S. debut at Coachella, Sueños in Chicago and Summerfest in Milwaukee.

As independent artists, Latin Mafia has grown a dedicated pool of fans with only an eclectic handful of singles that gained traction on Spotify, where they boast nearly seven million monthly listeners.

Based in Mexico, the trio’s sound ranges from R&B, reggaeton and trap, to indie, pop, afrobeats and EDM.

Latin Mafia tells Variety their debut album, which is said to be released later this year, will be “very different” than their previous releases.

“We’re experimenting a lot and changing even more,” the group said jointly. “We could say that on the album everything starts from contrast — of saturation and noise, with the non-existent and almost barely perceptible; of the simple and the exaggerated, as well as the reasonable and the irrelevant.”

The group described signing a deal with Rimas as “synergetic,” adding that “we feel Rimas is a record label with a very young mentality.” They continued, “[Rimas] understands this industry is always changing and that today, the music industry stands for something totally different than it did [before].”

Junior Carabano, vice president of Rimas, said the signing was a “testament to our expansion in Mexico,” adding that the deal took a year to complete. The deal was said to have involved multiple bids from other major labels.

“This amazing achievement is the result of a year of hard work, and I am incredibly grateful to have made it a reality,” said Carbano. “This has been my biggest priority over the past 12 months, and signing Latin Mafia means a lot to me personally. We’re honored to welcome them and appreciate their trust in our work. We’re excited to embark on this adventure, giving them our best to bring their music to expansive new audiences in Mexico and around the world. I can’t wait to write their next chapter together and make history.”

Latin Mafia’s biggest songs include “Patadas de Ahogado,” “Flores,” “Julietota,” “Se Fue La Luz,” and “No Digas Nada.”

The band has already completed dates at Lollapalooza Argentina, Lollapalooza Chile, Costa Rica’s Picnic Festival, Colombia’s Estereo Picnic, Guatemala’s Empire Music Festival, and Justas Festival in Puerto Rico. They’re set to perform for Mexico’s Baja Beach Fest on August 10.

Cote de Pablo to Co-Host Spotify’s “Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch” Weekly Video Podcast

Posted on May 28, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Cote de Pablo is reporting for (off) duty…

The 44-year-old Chilean actress and singer and NCIS veteran and her former on camera love interest, Michael Weatherly, will host Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch, a new weekly video podcast for Spotify.

Slated to launch on Tuesday, June 4, the podcast features the de Pablo and Weatherly, who’ll reprise their characters in the upcoming NCIS: Tony & Ziva spinoff series produced by CBS Studios for Paramount+.

In each weekly podcast episode, de Pablo and Weatherly, along with a special guest, will rewatch iconic episodes.

Former franchise cast and guest stars making appearances include Sean Murray, Sasha Alexander, Eric Christian Olsen, Jon Cryer and more who’ll join the hosts to reminisce about the show’s impact on television and in pop culture, and reveal exclusive behind-the-scenes moments from making the TV series.

Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch, is produced by Spotify Studios in partnership with Rabbit Grin Productions.

The show is executive produced by Jeph Porter and Rob Holysz. Produced by Natalie Holysz, Kasper Selvig and Derek Johnson.

Peso Pluma Signs with Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Posted on May 7, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Peso Pluma has new representation…

The 24-year-old Mexican singer and musician has signed with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in all areas.

Peso Pluma’s debut album, Génesis, won the “Best Música Mexicana Album” award at the 2024 Grammys and landed No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, marking the highest-charting Mexican music album in the chart’s history.

The album has also garnered a variety of other awards this year, including four iHeartRadio Music Awards and two wins for “Best Album – Regional Mexican” and “Best Collaboration – Regional Mexican” at the 2024 Latin American Music Awards.

In the past year, Peso headed off on a sold-out global tour, became the first Mexican artist to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards and won the “Best New Act” category at the MTV Europe Music Awards last year.

In 2023, Peso’s hit single “Ella Baila Sola” broke records by securing the No. 10 spot on Billboard’s All-Genre Hot 100 list, amassing an impressive 1.2 billion streams.

He currently holds the title of the fifth most-streamed artist globally, boasting over 60 million monthly listeners on Spotify revealing his popularity beyond the Spanish-language market.

Following his performances at Coachella and for Sony Electronics, Peso is gearing up for his North American tour this summer and headlining major festivals such as the Governor’s Ball, Sueños and Baja Beach Fest.

Additionally, his second studio album, Éxodo, is set to release this spring.

Additional accolades include four 2024 Premio Lo Nuestro awards, including “New Artist Male” and “Música Mexicana – Album of the Year.” Further, there were eight triumphs at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards, with Peso notably clinching titles like “Artist of the Year, New.” Additionally, he garnered five distinctions at the 2023 Premios Juventud, securing recognitions like “Next Generation Regional Mexican” and “Best Regional Mexican Album.”

Peso Pluma Releases Music Video for DJ Snake-Assisted Track “Teka”

Posted on April 19, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Peso Pluma has slithered his way to a new collaboration…

After premiering the track at Coachella last weekend, the 24-year-old Mexican singer has officially released the new collaborative single, “Teka,” with DJ Snake.

Released via Interscope Records, the song blends the styles of both internationally-renowned artists to create a beat you’re bound to hear on a dance floor soon. Or, as Peso Pluma puts it, it’s “gonna rock the discotheque, theque, theque, theque, theque.”

If the massive crowd at the Sahara Tent for DJ Snake’s Coachella set was any indicator, the song is sure to be an upcoming summer staple.

An instant crowd-pleaser, the song has already amassed almost 300,000 plays on Spotify. Now, Peso Pluma and DJ Snake have released the official music video.

The video offers a whole new perspective on the tried-and-true musical “car test.” In the video, directed by Benjamin Mege, DJ Snake and Peso Pluma are listening to the track on the car stereo when they notice tiny people dancing within the vehicle’s speakers. A mini-dancefloor comes alive within its dashboard and everyone gets down, including grandma.

Sleek lighting and cinematography add depth to the video’s lighthearted narrative, with artistic angles complimenting the track. When DJ Snake and Peso Pluma are stopped and asked to take off their sunglasses, they, too, join the dance party within the car’s speaker.

Bizarrap Teams Up with Natanael Cano to Release Two-Track “BZRP Music Session #59″

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Bizarrap is back with new music featuring a Regional Mexican star…

The 25-year-old Argentine record producer, songwriter, DJ and hitmaker has partnered with Natanael Cano to release two singles.

The 23-year-old Mexican corridos tumbados pioneer and Bizarrap joined forces on “BZRP Music Session #59,” a two-song project officially released on Wednesday, April 3.

The new music is as explosive and raw as previous music sessions recorded by the likes of Residente, Arcángel and Young Miko.

According to a press release, “BZRP Music Session #59” was created following a “spontaneous” Miami meeting between the two artists in 2021, and is powered by Bizarrap’s innovative Argentine trap.

“Now that they know we’re on top, they think we haven’t struggled,” spits Cano in the first track, or chapter one, also being referred to as “Endiamantado.”

Chapter two, or the second song from this release titled “Entre las de 20,” fuses Cano’s corrido tumbado hybrid with synthesizers and Bizarrap’s signature style.

Kicking off with his prickly guitars, Cano sings about outgrowing a relationship; he’s on to bigger and better things. “There’s no trace of what you knew about me/ I told her we broke up, I don’t have time to spend. But I do have money to throw away.”

It’s not the first time Bizarrap teams up with a música mexicana artist.

Last summer, Bizarrap tapped Peso Pluma for “BZRP Music Sessions #55,” which peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart dated June 17.

Cano’s session with Bizarrap follows team-ups with Milo J, Rauw Alejandro and Shakira, the latter being Bizarrap’s most consequential session to date.

The dis track broke a handful of Guinness World Records and, when it dropped, held the title for most streamed Latin track on Spotify in 24 hours (14.4 million streams) and most viewed Latin track on YouTube in 24 hours (63 million views). It also won song of the year at the Latin Grammys.

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