Ozuna would not have an agent. He would not have main sponsorships. He would not have offers in place with AEG Live or Live Nation. And though his music is distributed and marketed by Sony Music U.S. Latin, he’s signed to Dimelo Vi, the unbiased label owned by his supervisor, Vicente Saavedra.
Yet proper now, the 26-year-old artist from Puerto Rico is the top-selling Latin act out there, and his Aura Tour might end 2018 because the highest-grossing U.S. Latin tour, with over 30 area dates scheduled till December.
For the week ending Aug. 30, Ozuna’s second studio album, Aura, scored the yr’s greatest week for a Latin album, with 49,000 equal album items, and the biggest streaming week ever for a Latin launch, in response to Nielsen Music. Aura arrived at No. 7 on the all-genre Billboard 200 and have become Ozuna’s second No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums checklist, bumping his first LP, Odisea, from No. 1 to No. 2. The Aura Tour — booked, produced and promoted by indie firm Elite Media & Marketing — kicked off with sold-out reveals in Atlanta and at Miami’s American Airlines Arena, the place Ozuna moved 18,139 tickets, the top-selling Latin live performance ever on the venue.
But regardless of Ozuna’s indie technique, his success additionally highlights the present energy of major-label clout. “We signed a extra severe take care of Sony and The Orchard, they usually gave us a plan that was like placing Ozuna on steroids,” remembers Saavedra, noting that his earlier distribution take care of Sony excluded YouTube rights, for instance. The additional muscle that Sony utilized this time helped produce a mean of 300 p.c extra streams for Aura on Ozuna’s prime three streaming platforms than for Odisea, says Jose Cedeno, senior vp development and innovation for Sony Music U.S. Latin, regardless of Ozuna delivering his album 24 hours earlier than its launch — one other Latin first.
Ozuna was already a streaming phenom earlier than Aura. His debut album Odisea, launched in August 2017 and distributed by Sony, is the second longest working No. 1 on Top Latin Albums historical past, thanks largely to streaming.
The success led Saavedra to arrange much more for the follow-up, increasing his take care of Sony so it encompassed digital advertising and dealing with the label in what he calls a “joint” effort.
According to Cedeño, Sony pushed with social media engagement, sturdy accomplice help and a significant digital advertising marketing campaign. Planning was so tight that the outcomes had been there, although Ozuna invited bachata star Romeo Santos to the undertaking actually the week of launch, delaying supply of the ultimate masters till the evening earlier than.
“We put it in God’s palms,” says Saavedra. “If it is prepared it is prepared. Ozuna and I felt tremendous sure. So sure, I informed him my aim was to have the No. 1 and No. 2 album concurrently on the chart.”
For the brand new tour, which he negotiated on the finish of final yr, Saavedra contemplated a number of presents however turned to Pablo Casals, the founding father of EMM, and the primary promoter to ebook Ozuna within the U.S., for a Miami membership present in 2016.
Although Casals has had EMM for a few years, his experience was principally in festivals, and he had by no means booked and promoted a tour of this magnitude.
“We’re totally different as a result of we cater to our enterprise, we do not wish to lose that mother and pop sitaution” says Casals, who’s from Brooklyn. “For one other promoter, it might be only one extra tour; for me, it is the largest factor occurring in my life.” says Casals.
Dealing immediately with Casals means Saavedra’s rev share is larger, and since a lot of the reveals are sell-outs, “I do know what I’ve coming. So I do not owe anybody something [in terms of advances].
As far as main sponsors, there are none. Yet.
“I’ve had presents, however typically folks assume, ‘Oh, these are simply two Puerto Ricans and we are able to pitch something. No. I do know what Ozuna’s worth is, and whoever desires to return in has to know that as effectively. I like to present alternatives to new folks, individuals who share our imaginative and prescient. There are many names however few males on this enterprise. And for me, your phrase is all the things.”
