Market Report: Puerto Rico
Home to some of the biggest reggaeton stars in the world, the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico is well and truly on the music map.
Its key arena, the ASM Global-managed Coliseo de Puerto Rico (known locally as the ‘Choliseo’ or ‘Choli’) is an iconic venue that boasts sell-out shows from both local and international superstars such as Daddy Yankee and Journey. It ranks annually within Pollstar’s Top 20 World Ticketing Venues.
Primary ticketing
The leading ticketing company in Puerto Rico is Ticketera, with approximately 90% market share, according to reports. The firm is the exclusive ticketing partner for the three major venues on the Caribbean island: Coliseo de Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Convention Center, and Coca-Cola Music Hall.
Other companies include Ticket Center (which launched in 1996), Ticket Plus PR, (which celebrated its tenth anniversary this year), and Buy a Tix.
In-demand international artists from the Latin and Anglo music markets also headline here
In 2019, ASM Global engaged LA-based TixTrack to improve the functionality of Ticketera. The tech company integrated its B2B solution Nliven, a scalable cloud-based solution into Ticketera’s systems to streamline the online ticket-buying experience. The cloud also provides analytics and reports, to help maximise promoter revenue.
Distribution of sales
95% of tickets are purchased online. However, there is still a box office to accommodate physical ticket sales.
International & domestic splits
ASM Global regional general manager Jorge Pérez says that there is a 60/40 split in support of regional musicians, many of whom have a global following. In-demand international artists from the Latin and Anglo music markets also headline the Choliseo. Christian Nodal and Travis Scott are among the artists performing this year.
Secondary ticketing
Reselling or scaling is illegal in Puerto Rico.
Tax & charges
VAT is 11.5%. After reopening post-Covid, the Choliseo introduced an additional $2 per ticket facility fee to contribute towards its significantly higher costs.
Country Profile: Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico has solidified its status as a “big-time exporter,” says Move Concerts promoter Alejandro Pabon, with stars like Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, and Marc Anthony being mainstays on the international touring circuits.
Here, Move Concerts has sold out 19 arena shows and more than 250,000 tickets this year alone, which Pabon says he thinks will begin to taper off with market saturation.
“We’re going to have to start promoting shows the old-school way, with more marketing, strategies, and content, as opposed to having shows just sell out as was happening for the last three years,” he says.
Regional Mexican music is on the rise here, with Luis Miguel doing a sold-out, three-show run with Move earlier this year. Coliseo de Puerto Rico booking manager Melanie García Vélez echoes this, saying artists like Grupo Firme, Carín León, and Christian Nodal have all sold out two nights each.
“We’re going to have to start promoting shows the old-school way, with more marketing, strategies, and content, as opposed to having shows just sell out as was happening for the last three years”
ASM Global’s Coliseo de Puerto Rico, the 18,000-capacity, state-of-the-art arena, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The San Juan-based venue sold more than 700,000 tickets across 71 events last year from artists including Ricky Martin, Michael Bublé, Juan Luis Guerra, and Daddy Yankee.
Despite having a world-class arena, a major challenge is the lack of a stadium venue for A-list tours to utilise. Despite that, Puerto Rican artists in the spotlight are a major draw for Spanish-speaking artists and fans to stop by the country.
“We are blessed to have many internationally recognised Puerto Rican artists; this helps us position the island strategically in the industry,” says García Vélez. “This opportunity is often used by international artists who use the coliseo to meet and connect with their Latino audience, giving them the opportunity to visit other Spanish-speaking venues.”
Live Nation also has a hand here, helping bring Travis Scott to the arena for the first time this September.
Arena Market: Puerto Rico
2004 was a big year for Puerto Rico, and for reggaetón. Not only did local boy Daddy Yankee’s Gasolina become the first Spanish-language song to be played on mainstream US radio since Los Del Río’s Macarena in 1993, but in the Caribbean island’s capital of San Juan, the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot was opening its doors.
Twenty years on, with reggaetón not just a crossover curio but one of the dominant musical styles worldwide, the ASM Global arena (known locally as ‘Choliseo’ or ‘Choli’) celebrates its first two decades, even as it remains the home ground for a remarkable pool of homegrown reggaetón superstars – from Bad Bunny and Daddy Yankee to Ozuna, Rauw Alejandro, Wisin & Yandel, and Justin Quiles, not to mention Latin stars of Puerto Rican birth and descent including JLo, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, and others.
With a little over 3m residents, Puerto Rico has just one major arena, but it is a hardworking one, marking its 10 millionth visitor two years ago and approaching 13m now. In the fiscal year 2023, the arena reported a net income of $7.5m– the highest recorded since its opening.
According to ASM Global regional general manager Jorge Pérez, the big-time status of the island’s cultural exports and the 18,500-cap arena’s ability to give them a major venue on home turf have been mutually beneficial.
“We have artists that are being heard around the world, so that creates awareness for Puerto Rico, which is very positive for us, because not only are we exporting our culture, our music, but it creates traction and awareness for Puerto Rico itself”
“We have artists that are being heard around the world, so that creates awareness for Puerto Rico, which is very positive for us, because not only are we exporting our culture, our music, but it creates traction and awareness for Puerto Rico itself,” he says. “As a world-class venue, we have benefited from that.”
Coming through the arena recently have been Louis Tomlinson, Evanescence, Luis Miguel, reggaetón pioneer Ivy Queen, Daddy Yankee, and Eladio Carrión.
As an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico is a destination for significant numbers of US fans, drawn by the promise of Caribbean adventure and, of course, cheaper tickets.
“About 10% of the tickets that we’re selling across the board are coming from the US,” says Pérez. “Sometimes it might be cheaper to see someone like Bad Bunny here in San Juan, just because his pricing is more attractive. In the US, front-row tickets are $800, $900 face value; here, those same tickets are $100, $150.”
Nonetheless, El Choliseo is one of the most profitable arenas in the US, regularly charting among its top venues. It routes comfortably not only as a Caribbean stop between North and South America but in tandem with the increasingly muscular neighbouring market of Dominican Republic, all the while delivering significant tourism benefits to its own island.
“About 10% of the tickets that we’re selling across the board are coming from the US”
“We estimate that maybe 30,000 or 40,000 people a year are coming to see a show,” says Pérez, “so that’s creating room tax estimated at maybe $20m. We have worked to create that economic movement from the diaspora and from the US in general, and that’s something that we’re very proud of.”
With the 20th anniversary in mind, local muralists are in the process of decorating the interior walls of the venue as part of a project called ‘Choli Walls.’ “We really can’t do much with the structure, but we are changing the look and feel of the inside,” says Peréz.
Also on the birthday agenda, following a ‘Star for a Day’ competition and a 5km charity run through San Juan, is a free festival for the people of Puerto Rico, with 15,000 expected and acts yet to be announced.
So can we expect Choliseo to last another two decades? “We will keep the building in top shape,” says Pérez.
“Everything has changed so quickly, and we have venues that are so advanced technologically – and we are, too. But I think sometime in the next 20-year window we might have to sit down and look at having a second Choliseo.”