Management
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Maria Becerra has shuffled her management, Billboard has learned.
The Argentine star and her longtime manager, José Levy, have amicably parted ways. Becerra will now be co-managed by Natanael Real, who was been her longtime day-to-day manager, along with veteran Mexican manager Armando Lozano, who 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.”
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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.
Chappell Roan has split with her management team, sources confirm to Billboard.
The news comes after the breakout star scored her first slate of Grammy nominations, including in all of the Big Four categories. Her 2023 debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, will compete for album of the year while her hit “Good Luck, Babe!” is up for record and song of the year. Roan is also a contender for best new artist.
Roan’s nods were notably left off a congratulatory post shared from the Instagram account for State Of the Art — the company Roan was previously signed to, with Nick Bobetsky as her manager. Bobetsky met Roan in 2018, and as he previously told Billboard, “Her immense talent was clear immediately.”
Bobetsky had a front-row seat as Roan’s career took off and she racked up milestones including her first Billboard Hot 100 top 10 (“Good Luck, Babe!”), a top 5 entry for Midwest Princess on the Billboard 200 and record-breaking festival crowds, among other accomplishments.
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Most recently — in addition to her Grammy nominations — Roan made her musical guest debut on Saturday Night Live, where she performed an unreleased country-leaning pop song titled “The Giver.” At her Governors Ball festival set this summer in New York, she performed another unreleased track titled “Subway.” In an August interview with Music Business Worldwide, Bobetsky shared that the artist is “busy writing” new material.
Roan’s rise has had its fair share of frustrations, too. The artist has publicly spoken out about the toxicity of fandoms and “predatory” interactions she has had. In a note posted to Instagram this August, she wrote: “When I’m on stage, when I’m performing, when I’m in drag, when I’m at a work event, when I’m doing press … I am at work. Any other circumstance, I am not in work mode…I don’t agree with the notion that I owe a mutual exchange of energy, time, or attention to people I do not know, do not trust, or who creep me out — just because they’re expressing admiration.”
She then wrote in the caption: “I’m not afraid of the consequences for demanding respect. Just to let you know, every woman is feeling or has felt similar to what I’m experiencing. This isn’t a new situation. If you see me as a b—- or ungrateful or my entire statement upsets you, baby that’s you… you gotta look inward and ask yourself ‘wait why am I so upset by this? Why is a girl expressing her fears and boundaries so infuriating?’ That is all.”
DannyLux is expanding his management team, Billboard can confirm. The Mexican American singer-songwriter adds D Luna Music to VPS Music — his home label since launching his career in 2020 — in a new partnership. Under the leadership of José Luis Aguilar (VPS) Daniel Luna (D Luna), the deal “aims to elevate the artist to new […]
Drew Baldridge, who earned a top 5 hit on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart with his independently-released song “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” has partnered with BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville in releasing his new song, “Tough People,” which goes for radio adds Nov. 4 via Stoney Creek Records. Baldridge has also signed with Left | Right Management for representation. He […]
Gonzo Lübel, an L.A.-based artist manager who represented acts including The Marías and Peach Tree Rascals, tragically died in a plane crash Tuesday (Oct. 8) on Catalina Island. He was 34.
“The entire Red Light family is devastated by this loss and our hearts go out to Gonzo’s family, friends and all those who knew and worked with him,” said Red Light in an Instagram post. “Gonzo truly had the biggest of hearts and was a beloved member of our team. A kind individual, he was a friend to all whom he encountered. His positive impact on all of us will be remembered forever.”
Lübel, who had worked at Red Light Management for roughly three years, also represented several other artists at the firm, including Inner Wave and Cash Bently. Outside of his work in the music industry, friends say he was a lover of animals — especially his foster dog Virgil — and enjoyed flying planes.
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In a tribute on Instagram, The Marías said of Lübel’s passing: “rest in peace gonzi. thank you for always being undeniably you. the animals in heaven are so lucky they get to spend their days with you.”
In a subsequent post, the bilingual alt-pop band added: “our manager, friend and family for six years, but a part of us forever. you were there for all of our firsts. our first project, our first tour, our first headline show, our first sold out show, our first million streams, our first coachella, our first album, our first grammy nomination. thank you.”
Joseph Barros, a member of Peach Tree Rascals, also shared a tribute to Lübel via an Instagram story, saying, “It’s hard to accept you’re not here with us anymore, but I’m grateful to have met such a genuine soul I could call my brother your spirit lives on in me from all the beautiful memories we made. You always told me you believed in me & I promise I’ll make you proud. love you Gonzito. rest in peace.”
This Trip Travel, a company that hosts retreats for music industry professionals, also shared a carousel of photos of Lübel at last year’s manager summit in Mexico with the caption: “Gonzo was a true one of a kind. A brilliant manager, a caring friend and a heart of gold… We love you Gonzo, we’ll hold you in our hearts forever.”
Lübel is survived by his mother Mariana Garcia, his brother Federico Lübel, nieces Mila and Lucia Lübel, wife Cristina Pillajo and best friend Sandy Kanphantha.
Music industry veteran Rebeca León, who has helped guide Latin music and culture into the mainstream and up the charts, is the recipient of the Latin Power Players’ Choice Award, which is an accolade chosen by Billboard Pro subscribers.
As founder and CEO of artist management company Lionfish Entertainment and film/TV studio Lionfish Studios, León helms a roster that includes Brazilian superstar Anitta, Venezuelan singer-songwriter Danny Ocean, rising Spanish act st. Pedro and Venezuelan reggaetón LGBTQ+ artist La Cruz. The Miami-based León also oversaw the rise of global stars like Colombia’s J Balvin and Juanes, as well as Spain’s Rosalía, whom León developed from an unknown flamenco artist.
León says working with artists she believes in is an honor and a privilege that “gives me hope for the future of music.” To that end, León and Pharrell Williams have partnered on the creation of a bicultural U.S. Latin boy band that’s set to debut this fall. Meanwhile, Lionfish Studios focuses on work that draws on León’s Cuban heritage with projects including the 2022 Father of the Bride remake starring Gloria Estefan and Andy Garcia, which was produced alongside Jeremy Kleiner of Plan B. Projects in development include one with Keshet Studios and Apple.
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Lionfish’s success follows León’s 25-plus-year career, which has included over a decade in the touring business as senior vp for Goldenvoice and positions at labels including Sony Music and EMI.
While León, who lives in Miami Beach with her three dogs, calls herself “naturally shy and reserved,” in the case of this year’s Latin Power Players’ Choice Award, she feels a responsibility to step into the spotlight. “This moment is bigger than me,” she says. “We’re in a time where women’s rights are being challenged, and there are those who want to take us backward. That is simply not acceptable.” She expresses gratitude for the recognition and for a platform “to say, without a doubt, we are never going back. This is for my nieces and all the young girls out there: Never let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do — whether with your body or your mind.”
Being voted into this position by the music industry community, she adds, “means the world to me, to have the respect of my peers, which include so many people that I admire so much.”
This story appears in the Sept. 28, 2024, issue of Billboard.
The first time George Prajin took Peso Pluma shopping for a music video, they didn’t see eye to eye. “I wanted him to go John Varvatos rock’n’roll, and he wanted to go to Burberry,” Prajin recalls. Considering that the video would also feature regional Mexican artist Luis R Conriquez for their 2022 collaboration, “Siempre Pendientes,” “I was like, ‘I don’t know about that,’ ” he adds. But, as Prajin proudly admits of the all-plaid ensemble (complete with bucket hat) that Peso insisted upon (and which perfectly contrasted with the gritty desert setting), “He was right — and after that I learned not to go against him.”
That implicit trust now goes both ways — and Prajin, 52, has earned it. As the son of Antonino Z. Prajin — who owned Prajin One Stop, a music retailer and distributor that sold to over 3,000 stores across the United States and Mexico and had more than 20 warehouses throughout Southern California in its 1980s and ’90s heyday — the music business has always been in his blood. “Some people do what they love. Some people are born into a trade. I got the best of both worlds,” he says, speaking in a green room at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., hours before a recent Peso Pluma show there.
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After graduating from University of California, Los Angeles in the mid-’90s, Prajin founded the independent label Z Records, which scored early success with Jessie Morales (known as El Original de la Sierra), an Angeleno who loved West Coast rap and Mexican music and who ruled Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart with his Homenaje a Chalino Sánchez in 2001. But when physical record sales plummeted, Prajin One Stop shuttered in the late 2000s — and so did Z Records. “It was hard to make money with music during that period of time,” he recalls. “And so, I got disillusioned. I got a little depressed — but I tried to stay very close to music.”
Prajin went on to earn a degree from Southwestern University School of Law, becoming a sports and entertainment attorney and establishing his own practice while producing music on the side — and retaining ownership of the Z Records catalog. But in 2008, thanks to his love of MMA (and friendship with fighter Tito Ortiz), he entered an entirely new world: the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Prajin spent the next decade-plus focused on representing UFC’s top talent as an agent and a manager, earning a reputation as a master negotiator. “It’s educating yourself on the deal and being two steps ahead — and knowing what you’re asking for is valid,” he says.
By 2019, Prajin — who had continued to do music business work even as he dove into the UFC world — and his practice were negotiating “massive deals” for record labels. At the same time, he noticed a catalog-driven uptick in Z Records’ revenue and, on the advice of his law partner, Anthony Lopez, reentered the industry, launching Prajin Parlay in 2021. “I was looking for something that had nothing to do with any of the clients I was representing, and I started going back into the ’90s,” he says. And so, with the new Prajin Parlay, he soon helped launch Época Pesada (a group of corrido giants who were then in their 40s) and revive the career of Lupillo Rivera.
Soon, Prajin was again focusing on music full time, and his first major signing (in partnership with Grand Records) was Mexican singer-songwriter (and future star) Junior H. But it was an early management signee who would define his storied career — and help him emerge as one of Latin music’s most powerful and admired executives.
When Prajin first met Peso Pluma (born Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija) in 2019, thanks to an introduction from his former client Morales, the then-unknown artist was walking around Prajin Parlay Studioz in Anaheim playing guitar. “I was really intrigued by him,” Prajin recalls with a far-off look in his eyes. Morales was trying to help the young artist find management to no avail; given that Prajin himself had just reentered the industry, he, too, initially passed.
Morales’ father, Herminio Morales, signed the future superstar, but soon became too ill to work. And so, by 2022, the offer was back on the table — and this time, Prajin said yes. (Herminio, who is healthy today, remains involved in Peso’s career.) “I [waited until I] felt like I could really put up my sleeves and do what I do best,” Prajin explains.
George Prajin photographed backstage at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., on Aug. 20, 2024.
Chris Polk
Apparently, that was developing a global groundbreaker who has repeatedly made Billboard chart history while helping to elevate música mexicana from “the genre that has always taken a back seat,” as Prajin puts it, to the forefront of the mainstream.
“I’m not going to take all the credit because [label] Rancho Humilde, Natanael Cano, Junior H and all these other artists brought something that first, second and third generations of Mexicans born in the United States were lacking,” Prajin says. “But Hassan took that road and connected it to the international highway.”
Prajin now admits that when he first met Peso he was a bit confused. “I couldn’t tell what type of artist he was,” he says. “I thought he was a rapper, or was he a rocker? [The last] thing I thought of was a corridos singer. When we first started talking, he told me he wanted to do reggaetón. He wanted to do everything.” (Prajin even had him record a Pink Floyd song “to see if he trusted me.”)
“I said, ‘I love that, that’s what I want, but I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and it’s tough,’ ” Prajin continues, noting how in the past he’d only had fleeting success with rappers recording over banda beats. But, critically, Peso didn’t want to blend anything; he wanted to own every clearly marked lane he explored.
Together, they made a plan “to focus on his core audience, regional Mexican, and really build that. And at the same time, reach out and get a feel of these other genres and take it from there.” And they’ve done just that. In 2022, Peso made his Hot Latin Songs debut with “El Belicón,” with Raúl Vega. The following year, he scored the most entries on the chart of any regional Mexican act — and his team-up with Eslabon Armado, “Ella Baila Sola,” became the first regional Mexican song to enter the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 (where Peso has now charted 31 songs).
Peso’s third album, 2023’s Génesis, scored the highest placement on the Billboard 200 for a música mexicana album ever, debuting at No. 3. This year’s Éxodo double album also debuted in the top five, and for its second half, Peso enlisted several nonregional heavy hitters including Cardi B, Quavo, Anitta and DJ Snake. In August, Peso scored one of his biggest features yet, replacing Bad Bunny on Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Drunk,” off the new deluxe version of Vultures 2. (“He couldn’t believe it,” Prajin says, “because they’re so mysterious. They don’t even tell us until the song is released.”) Lately, Peso has been walking onstage to Black Sabbath; Prajin thinks he could do a rock album one day.
Their relationship has now expanded beyond just music to include Double P, Peso’s imprint through Prajin Parlay Records that launched in April 2023. (Prajin is the imprint’s co-founder and COO.) By December, Double P had signed a distribution deal with The Orchard, and in August, the label’s publishing division signed a global administration deal with Downtown.
Today, Double P’s roster boasts a tight-knit crew that shares talent — and Peso’s friendship. As CEO and head of A&R, Peso has strategically signed Mexican music acts Vega, Jasiel Nuñez, Tito Double P (Peso’s cousin and one of his co-writers) and Los Dareyes de la Sierra, among others.
“We’re building a team and going together, and that’s what I love about Hassan,” Prajin says. “Jasiel Nuñez was a friend. They made a deal — whoever makes it first is going to pull the other guy with him, and [Hassan] did that. He pulled him with him on tour. We’ve signed him. That’s their philosophy. We’re a real community.”
Plus, as Prajin says, having Peso as a partner helps him stay on top of his management game, too. “Because you really want to give the attention to Hassan, but then you don’t want to sign other artists and not give them the attention that they deserve… He’s always like, ‘Hey, make sure that everybody’s getting the attention that they need, too.’ ”
And as Prajin Parlay has proved over time, one rising tide can indeed lift all boats. In 2023, it finished atop the year-end Hot Latin Songs Publishers chart — Prajin proudly displays the trophy at his house next to his Grammy (honoring Génesis as best música mexicana album [including Tejano] at the 2024 awards). “One of the reasons why we won that publisher of the year award is [because of] Tito Double P,” Prajin says, crediting his songwriting savvy. “[He] then developed as an artist, and today, we released his first album.
“We’re providing those label services, and we’re doing it inclusive of the same management fee that any other manager would charge,” he continues. “A lot of people tell me that’s a crazy notion, but we’re not going to get rich or poor overnight.”
That same thought process led Prajin to restructure Peso’s five-year record and management deal just nine months in. Prajin had seen his early client Jessie Morales make a healthy living off music, only to end up “on hard luck,” and he never forgot it. “I always told myself, especially when I was practicing law, that if I had the chance to do this again, I would teach [artists] to not only be wary of how they spend their money, but to also build their own team. Have their own lawyer, have their own CPA. I want them to make sure that going forward, whatever they do in their lives, they’re going to make the right financial decisions. I fought hard for [Peso] to have his own [attorney in] Mexico. He has his own CPA. And then he has a person that audits the CPA.
“When I saw him making the kind of money that he was making… The artists should be the ones seeing the benefits, and that’s why we changed our deal,” Prajin continues. “I restructured it and made him a partner in Double P. It’s the right thing to do — and just one of the few times in life that something good turns into something great, because we’re killing it.”
Prajin, who is warm and attentive, says his father’s own “big heart” inspires him as an executive. “His kindness, his generosity, those are the things that have [helped me excel],” he says. “You could be a shark. But I don’t think those guys last too long. It’s all about networks. Right? I think a lot of the things that we accomplished were because I was able to pick up the phone and reach out to anyone. Everything comes full circle.”
And Prajin Parlay’s betting-inspired name tells its own full-circle story: Prajin has often said when something works, he doubles down. In the years to come, he says he’s “doubling down on everything” — beginning with Double P Records, saying the label is in the middle of completing a business transaction that will allow it to “really double down.”
“Double P Records and Prajin Parlay in five years are going to be a global brand,” he says, noting that in the next year or so he hopes to open offices and a recording studio in Madrid. He also has plans to grow the management roster and maybe even acquire other catalogs or companies. He’s also considering a sports division: “We’ve talked about it, yes,” Prajin says, adding that he and Peso are both fans of combat sports, and even share a boxing coach.
He admits that as a manager, what takes up most of his time each day is “trying to make everyone happy… I’m constantly trying to make sure everybody takes vacations, has their personal lives. You know, I’ve lived my life, I haven’t had any kids. I’ve devoted myself to my artists and to my athletes. And am I going to regret it down the road? I might. So I always tell people, ‘Think about yourself, too. This job isn’t your only focus.’ ”
Fortunately, Peso has been planning ahead for quite some time. The artist has long admired Jay-Z, and Prajin believes Peso is already following in the rapper’s footsteps to becoming a mogul himself. As for Prajin, he says his five-year plan looks a lot like an exit route, before laughing through a nervous smile: “No, I’m just kidding.”
He mentions how the other day, he and Peso were reminiscing when the artist told him, “You changed my life.”
“He changed my life as well,” Prajin says. “He’s allowed me to love music again, and also reach a lot of the goals I made for myself that I thought had passed.”
This story appears in the Sept. 28, 2024, issue of Billboard.
The video for Machine Gun Kelly and Jelly Roll‘s collaboration, “Lonely Road,” (No. 18, Hot Country Songs) casts MGK as a finance-strapped, blue-collar worker who commits an armed bank robbery, gets run down in a police chase and ends up seeing his newborn daughter for the first time from behind a wall of glass in prison.
The criminal storyline plays out over a melody long associated with a comforting, nostalgic John Denver hit, “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” with which “Lonely Road” is interpolated.
Matching an edgy, violent plot line with the legacy of a goody-two-shoes pop-and-country environmentalist imprints a scruffy wrinkle atop Denver’s safe reputation while bringing some revenue into his estate’s coffers.
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“It’s just this way to reinvigorate a song and remind people, ‘Oh, right, I love that song, “Country Roads,”‘ while they’re also having this great time at an MGK show,” 7S Management artist manager Amy Abrams noted on Sept. 18 while moderating the panel “Curating a Legacy — What Young Artists Can Learn From Estate Management” during the Americana Fest in Nashville. The reimagination of “Country Roads” provides Denver’s catalog “a way into a new audience, to associate yourself with another artist that may complement the image or the legacy that you’re working to create.”
Setting up a career for long-term health is, not surprisingly, similar to setting up personal finances for retirement. To do so successfully requires focusing on the future, protecting assets from opportunistic sharks, reflecting personal values in decision-making, saving documents and taking informed risks when it makes sense.
It also helps to develop a sense of self-worth. In personal finance, that means seeing oneself as someone who deserves to have a nest egg. In building a music career, that means self-identifying as a creator whose work has lasting value. That attitude might be difficult to develop during artists’ early years when bank accounts are slim and the desire to advance is powerful.
But Bob Dylan Center director Steve Jenkins noted that Dylan‘s latter-career reputation is, in part, an outgrowth of the importance he assigned to his copyrights and to his brand from his earliest years in the spotlight.
“He avoided some of the potholes that a lot of younger artists find themselves having to get into,” Jenkins said. “I think it’s about valuing your own work — as tempting as it might be, and at times, as necessary as it might be, to just bring some cash in initially — but taking a long view and thinking of yourself as that sort of artist.”
Perhaps most important is to start early, building the legacy consistently from the start rather than scrambling to make up lost ground on the back end. The panel focused on artists, though some of its points can be applied to other careers.
Key advice included:
• Think long term “If you are looking just ahead to tomorrow,” Abrams said, “and you are not looking way, way, way down the line, you are going to miss something.”
• Align with causes that speak to your audience “We often think about being careful to not turn off fans with this work; I think you can also turn on fans,” 7S Management director of philanthropy Kari Nott said. “When you speak up for folks who are screaming for help, who need your microphone to draw attention to the issue that they’re affected by, they’ll remember that for the rest of their lives.”
• Read contracts “You could just sign away your intellectual property for the rest of your life,” Abrams noted. “That’s a repercussion your grandkids are going to be dealing with when it doesn’t revert to your heirs.”
• Be willing to self-promote Abrams also observed, “There’s something to be said for telling everyone that you have a legacy. It’s up to you to communicate this information to the world and to throw your own party.”
• Celebrate important anniversaries The Denver estate is currently observing 50 years since he released the Back Home Again album. But, Jenkins said, be “judicious” in what anniversaries get promoted and make the marketing proportional to the milestone.
• Save memorabilia Dylan’s lyrics, finished or not, can sometimes be used to create merchandise or enhance exhibits. Photos, tour posters, backstage passes, set lists — as those items accumulate, they become a collection that has value in the long run.
• Share the thoughts and circumstances that inform your music “When you’re speaking to your team, the more you’re able to provide the context for your story as it relates to your work — you know, all the surrounding influences and whatnot — that leads to being able to champion you,” Concord vp of sync licensing and clearance Brandon Schott said.
• Identify icons worth emulating “Try and emulate the way that they move through the world,” Nott suggested. “Someone that I’ve always been struck by is Willie Nelson and how he starts every single Farm Aid concert by introducing himself and immediately passing the mic to the farmers.”
• Collaborate with others “I always describe sync as Brian Wilson — it’s taking two completely different instruments, laying them on top of each other, playing [them similarly] and they become a third instrument,” Schott said. “Taking visual artists and record artists, and putting them together can amplify both sides of that collaboration.”
• Look for other methods of exposure Advertising, in particular, can call attention to a copyright, though it can, Jenkins lamented, be “crass.” Ads that feel “more narrative-based,” said Schott, rather than blatant sales pitches, can remind the audience of a song and generate revenue without undermining its reputation.
• Leave a road map for heirs Artists who don’t specify their beneficiaries or leave instructions about how they want their legacy handled risk having their memories polluted or trivialized after they’re gone.
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A new management company comprised of independent managers has been established with industry veteran Julia Khan appointed as president. Operating out of offices in Los Angeles and London, the Khan-led team at Collective of Artists and Leaders (C•O•A•L) MGMT includes Creative Management Firm’s Yvette Medina; FM Group’s Alex Frankel, Chris Maher and Dani Chavez; HowRU? Entertainment’s Ben Eisenberg, Justin Miller and Corey Kastner; Leader Management’s Max Leader; and November Yellow’s Jaha Johnson. In addition, Human Re Sources CEO J. Erving will serve as board chair of music.
According to the release announcing (C•O•A•L) MGMT’s launch, the boutique firm will focus on supporting and nurturing “managers and their client roster of recording artists, music producers and writers.” While working collaboratively as a team, each participating manager will maintain their own brand.
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(C•O•A•L) MGMT is also supported by the venture-backed global agency YMU, with partners being offered “financial support, accounting services, business development, guidance to grow artist rosters and revenue, consulting services from experienced leadership, a creative community of experts, and global access to other divisions within the YMU group.”
Los Angeles-based Khan was named president by YMU Group CEO Mary Bekhait. Of her new post, Khan commented, “I am honored to spearhead C•O•A•L and partner with amazing managers who are committed to true artistic talent and go above beyond for their clients. It’s a privilege to support the team and their incredible rosters, and I am grateful to Mary Bekhait and YMU for backing us.”
Bekhait added, “YMU is delighted to partner with Julia, J., and the wider C•O•A•L team on this exciting new venture — the combination of culture-defining clients, experienced managers and YMU’s wider infrastructure is a compelling blend. We can’t wait to get started.”
Board chair Erving said, “I’ve been in this business for over 20 years, so to be consulting for my peers to push the boundaries of music management is truly an honor. Working as both an artist manager and distributor, the art of artist management is even more important now—in the age of independence—than ever before. Artists need value-add via their managers and this team holds the experience and collective power to blow it out the park. Big thanks to Julia, Mary, and YMU for having me.”
J. Erving
Dae Howerton
Prior to this, Khan consulted and co-managed Usher for eight years, working with management partners Roc Nation, SB Projects and Lafitte Mgmt. During that time, the Grammy-winning artist launched his successful Las Vegas residency. Khan’s industry background also includes consulting multiple Universal Music Group labels, Lighthouse Mgmt. and LVRN Records as well as a stint as head of marketing at Jive/LaFace Records. While there, she worked on projects for Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown and P!nk. Khan is presently working with Australian-Tamil singer/songwriter DHEE, who recently released her debut solo single “Roots.”
The five independent management firms comprising the (C•O•A•L) MGMT team represent a diverse array of clients:
Creative Management Firm: Yvette Medina was named one of Billboard Magazine’s 2024 Top 40 Latin Women In Music for her work with clients such as Snow Tha Product, Eva Ruiz, Ecko, De La Cruz, and Latenightjiggy. She partnered with YMU as head of Latin in 2023 to continue expanding Latin music on a global level and oversees the company’s Latin music operations.
FM Group: Its roster of global artists includes Chet Faker, Passion Pit, RAC, and Thunder Jackson. President Alex Frankel most recently has managed and co-produced Paris Hilton’s latest album, Infinite Icon, featuring SIA, Megan Thee Stallion and Meghan Trainor.
HowRU? Entertainment: Current clients include Tiana Major9, Frex, BAYLI, Chase Wav, Brody Myles, Tarek Ali, Jay Century, Omar Grand and DJ CoCo. Century and Wav won a Grammy last year for their work on Khalid’s “Silver Platter,” featured on the Barbie The Album soundtrack.
Leader Management: Client BBC Radio 1’s Benji B, who’s worked as musical director for Celine and the late Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton, now serves as musical director for Burberry, Jil Sander, Lacoste and Carvan. Other clients include drummer/composer and 2024 Ivor Novello album of the year winner Yussef Dayes, composer/DJ/producer Guy Gerber and rising Swiss-Nigerian DJ/producer Laolu.
November Yellow: Both a management firm and record label, the company’s artist management roster includes Ari Lennox, Isaia Huron, Tiara Thomasand Camper. Lennox I, who is releasing new single, “Smoke,” on Oct. 18, recently announced a new brand partnership with KISS Colors & Care hair products.
Regional Mexican music continues to surf a wave of unprecedented global popularity and expansion, with names like Peso Pluma, Luis R Conriquez, Edén Muñoz, Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera crowning Billboard’s global and U.S. charts.
Yet women in the genre are almost nowhere to be found. Just one female artist-led song appeared among the 50 on Billboard’s year-end Regional Mexican Airplay Songs chart: Yuridia and Angela Aguilar’s “Qué Agonía.” And among the regional Mexican acts dominating the Hot Latin Songs chart, only one female name comes up: pop singer Kenia Os as a guest on Peso Pluma’s “Tommy & Pamela.”
Behind the scenes, it’s a different story entirely. In what had long been a world of male dominance in the C-suite of música mexicana, women are now powerhouses. María Inés Sánchez, formerly head of marketing for regional Mexican indie label Afinarte, is now the West Coast vp for Sony Music U.S. Ana Luisa Gómez, who has worked with Alicia Villarreal and Sergio Vega, among others, now manages superstar Muñoz. Rosela Zavala manages Ana Bárbara, and Adriana Martínez manages rising trio Yahritza y Su Esencia.
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And they’re just a few among a growing group of women that also includes Ana Martínez (leading Fonovisa/Disa’s U.S. division), Delia Orjuela (head of creative for música mexicana at Warner Chappell) and managers for some of the most visible artists on the charts, like Ivan Cornejo, Xavi and Eslabon Armado.
Billboard gathered four of these executives for a candid conversation about how they’ve managed to make their marks in a complex genre they readily admit is “full of men” — and the unique skill set that it has taken.
“I’ve always said that I’m one person at home, and another when I leave my house and I become that other person that everyone says, ‘Oh, she’s super angry, super hysterical,’ ” Gómez says with a smile. “Yeah. I’m super all that because if I wasn’t, I think I wouldn’t have made it.”
Spanish singer-songwriter Natalia Jimenez (left) and Gómez
Courtesy of Ana Luisa Gómez
How did you get your start in the world of regional Mexican music?
Ana Luisa Gómez: I graduated from the University of Monterrey [in Mexico] in communications and started working in television, where I spent 14 years producing entertainment and musical programs. Fifteen years ago, I left that and started managing Sergio Vega, “El Shaka,” may he rest in peace. [Vega was murdered in 2010.] Then I started my advertising agency, offering a 360 model of booking, promotion, radio, television. Later I decided to focus more on management, and I’ve been with Edén Muñoz for three years.
María Inés Sánchez: I also started years ago at PolyGram, Sony, Universal, Machete, always in marketing, and when I moved to Los Angeles I started doing public relations. Later, [my client] Chiquis Rivera recommended me to run PR for DEL Records [in 2016], and that’s how I started in the Mexican music genre. I worked with Régulo Caro, Gerardo Ortiz, Ulices Chaidez, Los Plebes del Rancho [de Ariel Camacho].
Rosela Zavala: Like María Inés, I got my start through Chiquis. I came from the pop world, working with Paulina Rubio and later with Gloria Trevi. And from Gloria I went to Chiquis and landed in a completely different world, the regional Mexican music world. I co-managed Chiquis, and Ana Bárbara is the first artist I fully manage.
Adriana Martínez: I’ve only been doing this for two years. The role of manager fell on me. My brothers, Yahritza y Su Esencia, began to be recognized, and since they always turn to me, I had to get a lawyer and all that. When I said, “OK, now you can fly alone,” they said, “No, please don’t leave us.” The truth is I started in this with zero experience.
What has been the most difficult thing about being a manager?
Martínez: Being siblings, and then transitioning into manager mode. At first, the guys didn’t take me very seriously when I said, “We need to do this.” The seriousness of things was there, but it was easier for them to procrastinate because I was the one in charge and I was their sister.
Gómez: The most challenging thing for me is working with men. They’re all men. There are no women, at least not in the teams I have worked on, starting with Sergio Vega. It’s not easy for men to accept that someone is telling them what to do and how, although it’s not a mandate. But I understand. It’s machismo. So the most challenging thing is to deal with that and develop a strong character.
Zavala: I have found it difficult to get Ana’s music heard on the radio. We bring songs and they say, “Oh, the traditional mariachi isn’t playing now. It’s grupero.” So Ana says, “Let’s do grupero,” and they say, “Ah, grupero sounds old.” In Mexico we get played much more, but in the U.S., with so many men on that chart, it’s difficult to get in. Also, in the beginning with Ana, I wrote to a couple of concert promoters that I knew, and they weren’t interested in her tour. A few years later, those same people wanted to work with her. I love making that happen. But I always looked for the people who told me they believed in her, let’s do it. And there are many people, even men, who told me, “Yes, we will give it our all.”
Ana Bárbara (left) and Zavala
Courtesy of Rosela Zavala
Do you remember the first time you had to lay down the law to be taken seriously?
Gómez: With Sergio Vega, of course. I met him through Oscar Flores, a super-renowned concert promoter, and we clicked. But Sergio was a man without reins. He did what he wanted, how he wanted. He was a great talent looking for the right direction, but he didn’t know how to do it. When I said left, he said right. And one day, after an event in Sonora [Mexico], where everything I told him not to do, he did, I grabbed my suitcase, knocked on his hotel room door and told him, “That’s it. I don’t have to deal with you or your people or your party.” I took my bags and flew home to Monterrey. After five days, he came to see me and said: “I am in your hands. What do we do?” And from there, we became family.
Do you think of one moment in your career as particularly defining? María Inés, I remember meeting you when you were a junior publicist, and then seeing you become a powerful executive at the Afinarte label…
Sánchez: That’s where I started, from ground zero. When I began working at Afinarte, they didn’t have a company email, for example. The first year, they uploaded the music to TuneCore and I made the pitches to the platforms. They didn’t have a distributor. I came from working at multinationals, which of course are highly organized and have departments for everything. Here we had to assemble everything, and I was the only woman: The bosses, the musicians, even the photographers were men. So it was a challenge, but I thank them because not many companies would have given me that much autonomy.
Zavala: Working with Paulina was like getting a master’s degree. [Initially], I was the president of her fan club, and she gave me the opportunity to be her personal assistant. Then I finished my “master’s degree” with Gloria. I spent eight years with her. I saw her struggle at the beginning with her shows, and then saw her grow to play arenas. She gave me that opportunity to grow and learn more and do day-to-day management. It was scary at the beginning. When you go from being a fan to being an assistant, you are no longer the friend. Everything becomes much more serious.
Martínez: I graduated [with a degree] in psychology. I worked as an outreach coordinator [for a health provider], and I already had my life planned. [When I started working with my brothers], the most important thing was to make sure that the values that our parents had taught us — keeping our feet on the ground, not forgetting where we came from, manners — were maintained. But there have also been times where I’ve said, “This is as far as it goes; I’m their sister, but if they don’t have respect for me as their manager, then that’s it.” After that, things calmed down and thank God, we are all moving together. But sometimes you have to have those talks or pack your bags and leave. All these battles have made us realize that family is important but also the respect we have as business partners is important.
Yahritza y Su Esencia with their sister and manager Martínez (second from left).
Jesse Sandoval
Aside from the difficulty of being taken seriously, what is most challenging for you on a day-to-day basis?
Martínez: We work with a major label [Columbia] and an indie label [Lumbre Music]. It’s good to have the macro view and the micro view, but our work doesn’t end there. It’s always been super important for us to have that relationship with the fans, to reach a point where they know the artist as people. And we didn’t receive much support in that respect. We said, “If we show people who we are and where we come from, our hearts will connect,” and sometimes big companies don’t understand that.
Gómez: Above all, the people that surround the artist but aren’t part of the music industry and love to mess things up. Going back to something that María Inés said, the daily challenge to be validated.
Are there certain advantages you do have as women in this business?
Martínez: I think we have that emotional balance, and we can see that in our empathy. The balance we give our artists with that empathy is super important, and it helps them know that they can trust us and that we are here to play any role.
Gómez: I am neither Edén’s mother, grandmother nor cousin, but you have to be all of that for him. Understand if he’s had a bad day, if his child is sick that day. A man also understands, but I think that a man has less sensitivity than us, he doesn’t have that sixth sense we have where as soon as I see him, I know what’s up. I think that as a woman you can dig in a little bit further than a man would dare to.
Zavala: The sensitivity we have with them and putting ourselves in their shoes. Even if you’re having a bad day, you still have to get onstage, sing. So the ability to support them from behind, be a cheerleader and look them in the eyes and giving them that support they need at that moment is very important. Because although you’re not family, you become family.
From left: Sony Music Latin president Alex Gallardo, Mexican singer-songwriter Ramón Vega and Sánchez at Sony Music Latin’s 2023 Música Mexicana Celebration in Los Angeles.
JC Olivera/Getty Images
What advice would you give to anyone starting out in the music business?
Gómez: You have to be passionate. If you go for the money or for the “I’m the manager,” bye. The money will come. It’s about fighting to place the artist at the level [they are] and being clean and honest. And don’t be a fan. It’s one thing to admire your artist, but don’t fall into fandom. You won’t be able to help them.
Sánchez: Don’t give up and be patient. And be empathetic. Be attentive. Be a little more human and don’t look at artists as a money machine. And speak up. Before, I stayed back and swallowed a lot of things. You have to raise your voice in the moment. Go for it. If you don’t agree with something, say so.
Zavala: Don’t take things personally. I was 22 when I started. I was so very young. Now that I’m older, I think back to how sensitive I was. Because it’s not about you. You grow thick skin. And, I’d say, speak up. Present your ideas, articulate them and land them as they should be.
Martínez: Be patient. Love, passion for your work, is what will lead you to do a good job with your artist. And most of all, don’t throw in the towel so soon. And ask. I would always hold back. I would talk down to myself. Ask for help, ask questions. I always thought that they were going to see me as “How could you not know that?” But all questions are good.
This story appears in Billboard‘s Rumbazo special issue, dated Sept. 14, 2024.