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Colombia’s MedPlus Coliseum is celebrating its second anniversary, having welcomed more than 550,000 people and a raft of international stars since its Covid-delayed opening.
The 24,000-cap multi-purpose venue in Bogotá is the brainchild of Colombian-born US promoter Henry Cardenas, president and executive director of US-based promoter Cárdenas Marketing Network (CMN).
“It’s about time that Colombia had a building that was able to offer more and better shows,” said Cárdenas at the time.
Artic Monkeys, Imagine Dragons, Roger Waters, Twenty One Pilots, Swedish House Mafia and Luis Miguel are among the 180-plus acts to have graced the building since it launched with a show by Latin singer Marc Anthony in August 2022.
As well as its 20,000+ capacity main room, the Coliseum houses more than 750m2 of LED screens, ten loading and unloading docks and a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces. Healthcare company MedPlus agreed a five-year sponsorship deal with the venue last year.
“This alliance with the MedPlus Coliseum has been fundamental in promoting well-being beyond the physical,” says MedPlus CEO Hernando Botero, as per La Republica. “Through this collaboration, we have been able to show that well-being is not only about health, but also about enjoying high-quality experiences and balance, essential aspects for a full life.”
“Inflation here in Colombia is hitting pretty hard, but the big names are selling out, both in stadiums and in arenas”
Upcoming acts set to perform at the US$100 million entertainment and sports venue include Travis Scott, Eric Prydz and Feid.
CMN entered into a “historic” partnership with AEG Presents in March this year in a strategic alliance to create “the world leader in live Latin music”, with ambitions to develop “elevated and expanded experiences” for artists and audiences globally.
The Colombian capital is also home to the 13,000-capacity Movistar Arena, operated by Colombiana de Escenarios – a joint venture between Movistar Arena Chile owner HLR Group and Colombian ticketing market leader Tuboleta.
“Inflation here in Colombia is hitting pretty hard, but the big names are selling out, both in stadiums and in arenas,” Movistar Arena Colombia general manager Luis Guillermo Quintero told IQ‘s 2024 Global Arena Guide.
The country is South America’s fourth-biggest economy, and its second city of Medellín is also set to gain a 16,000-capacity multipurpose arena by 2026. Built by CLK Group, the company behind Tuboleta and promoter TBL Live, Arena Primavera is projected to host 600,000 spectators across 75 events each year.
“We are convinced of the potential of the entertainment market in Medellín and [the administrative department of] Antioquia, which has become a musical and cultural reference for the country, a must-stop for national and international artists,” said Hernando Sánchez, CLK general manager. “Therefore, a venue is needed to place the department as a leader in the global arena circuit.”
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Promoters Cárdenas Marketing Network (CMN) and Breakfast Club are partnering with booking and management agency La Industria Inc to launch new one-day Colombian festival La Eterna.
The Latin music event will debut at Atanasio Girardot Stadium in Medellín on 3 August as part of the traditional Flower Fair. General sale tickets start at COP135,000 (€33).
“La Eterna is a festival-type experience never before seen within the framework of the Flower Fair,” says Henry Cárdenas, CEO of CMN. “We will have capacity for more than 42,000 people at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium with two alternate areas of the stadium with differential experiences, two stages – one of them on a 360º platform – and infinite experiences that will allow us to have an eternal party in the city.”
Artists will include Marc Anthony, Ana Gabriel, Nicky Jam, Xavi, Fonseca, Elder Dayán Díaz, Proyecto Uno and Nath, reports Revista DC.
“The Flower Festival was born to proudly celebrate our Antioqueñidad, our music and our culture,” says Breakfast Club CEO Carlos Franco. “Medellín is an abundant land, of vibrant people who have no restraints when it comes to enjoying themselves. Without a doubt, it is the eternal capital of music. That is why we will present rhythms from reggaetón, salsa, rancheras, merengue and much more.”
“Medellín is the home of the great urban artists, the square of the great concerts and festivals”
Founded by music entrepreneur Cárdenas in 2001, Chicago-based CMN promotes global tours by artists such as Marc Anthony, Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Chayanne, Ana Gabriel and Nicky Jam. Most recently, it launched the largest global Latin music tour with Luis Miguel.
Breakfast Club was launched in 2013 and currently holds 15 to 20 events per year including electronic music festival La Solar, which was held at Parque Norte Medellín in February.
Both companies announced major moves back in March, with US-based CMN forming a strategic alliance with AEG Presents to create “the world leader in live Latin music”, and Colombia’s Breakfast Club and TBL Live joining forces to create new entertainment company Breakfast Live.
Medellín-based La Industria Inc, meanwhile, has helped launch the careers of acts such as Nicky Jam, Manuel Turizo and Chocquibtown.
“Medellín is the home of the great urban artists, the square of the great concerts and festivals,” adds La Industria Inc CEO Juan Diego Medina. “That is why we will celebrate with Eterna, a party for everyone.”
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Veteran Latin singer Luis Miguel has emerged as one of the year’s biggest touring artists after selling 3.1 million tickets for his first global trek in five years.
Produced by Fenix Entertainment, Cárdenas Marketing Network (CMN) and Iglesias Entertainment, the 54-year-old Mexican performed 66 shows to 900,000 fans in 2023 and will play 111 concerts to more than 2.2m people this year.
Miguel, who first rose to fame in the 1980s, was ranked at No.4 in Pollstar‘s Worldwide Top 100 Artist Grosses for Q1 2024, grossing $84,367,629 from 593,308 ticket sales to trail only Coldplay, U2 and Madonna.
“Why is this happening? Because he’s an idol. People love him,” Henry Cárdenas, CEO and founder of CMN, tells Pollstar. “The other thing is that he doesn’t go out every year, and people were hungry to see him.”
“This is a unique artist. He is elegant, and people like to pay to see an elegant singer. He can be playing at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden or a soccer stadium, and he’s always dressed elegantly. He’s not on MTV, or radio stations every day doing interviews. It’s about his talent.”
“He saw the response and said, ‘I want to do something that [no Latin artist] has done. I want to do 200 shows'”
The Luis Miguel Tour kicked off in August 2023 at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he performed 10 sold-out nights. The run continued with 10 sold-out shows in Chile and 25 sold-out stadiums in the US, before closing with 21 shows in Mexico. More dates were added due to demand.
“He saw the response and said, ‘I want to do something that [no Latin artist] has done. I want to do 200 shows,’” adds Cárdenas. “And I said let’s do it.”
The outing, which includes more than 150 crew members, including 15 musicians and 19 mariachis. resumed on 18 January at Santo Domingo’s Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium in the Dominican Republic, followed by three sold-out concerts at El Coliseo de Puerto Rico, two shows in Guatemala, and stops in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica and Venezuela.
Currently in Colombia, the tour will extend through Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, the US, Canada, Spain and Mexico.
The Spanish leg will feature 15 dates from 28 June to 3 August, including two sold-out gigs at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium. It will also visit Córdoba, Sevilla, Pamplona, Murcia, Roquetas de Mar, Barcelona, A Coruña, Cádiz, Valencia and Marbella.
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AEG Presents has entered into a “historic” partnership with US-based Latin music promoter Cárdenas Marketing Network (CMN).
The two companies say the strategic alliance will create “the world leader in live Latin music” and will lead to the development of “elevated and expanded experiences” for artists and audiences globally.
“We are excited to partner with AEG Presents, one of the most powerful global forces in live entertainment,” says CMN founder and CEO Henry Cardenas. “I have known Jay Marciano for over 40 years and have deep respect for all his accomplishments and the tremendous business that he has built at AEG Presents. Together, we look forward to making an even greater impact on the explosive growth in the Latin market.”
Founded by music entrepreneur Henry Cárdenas in 2001, Chicago-based CMN promotes global tours by artists such as Marc Anthony, Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Chayanne, Ana Gabriel and Nicky Jam. Most recently, it launched the largest global Latin music tour with Luis Miguel.
“We have been looking to expand our presence in Latin music and concerts for quite some time”
It has also promoted sports matches in the US, including the international football friendly between Argentina and Brazil at East Rutherford, NJ’s MetLife stadium, as well as the first soccer game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, between Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
“Henry is a true entrepreneur and visionary, and what he and his team have built is simply awe-inspiring,” adds AEG Presents chair and CEO Jay Marciano. “We have been looking to expand our presence in Latin music and concerts for quite some time, and it was important that we took the time to find the right partner; we found it in Henry and CMN.
“AEG Presents has always placed a premium on preserving the identity and unique voice of our partner brands while providing them with the support and infrastructure to expand their reach and influence. Cárdenas Marketing Network is the most recognised and trusted name in Latin concert promotion, and we are so proud to welcome Henry and his team to the family.”
Marciano recently starred in ILMC’s (Late) Breakfast Meeting at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London, where he shared stories from his career in an interview with Ed Bicknell.
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The largest multipurpose arena in Latin America opened earlier this month in Colombia’s capital city, Bogotá.
The 24,000-capacity Coliseo Live (Colosseum Live) was inaugurated on 12 August with a concert by salsa superstar Marc Anthony.
Other artists slated to perform at the arena in 2022 include Arctic Monkeys, Imagine Dragons, Daddy Yankee, Ana Gabriel and Ricardo Arjona.
Alongside concerts, the venue (formerly Arena Bogotá) will also host corporate, sports, gastronomic, family events and 360 events.
The previous incarnation of the arena was acquired in 2019 by Henry Cárdenas, president and executive director of US-based promoter Cárdenas Marketing Network (CNM).
Cárdenas also leads Cárdenas Entertainment and Marketing Group (CEMG), founded in 2018 to manage the Arena Bogotá/Coliseo Live project.
“I have dreamed of a scenario that would have nothing to envy of the great arenas that exist in first-world countries”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though Colombia-born Cárdenas says he made a “multimillion-dollar investment” in the arena.
“For many years I have dreamed of a scenario that would have nothing to envy of the great arenas that exist in first-world countries, and that is what we bet on,” says Cárdenas.
“I am proud to say that Coliseo Live will surprise all its visitors, placing within their reach, among other things, more than 750 square meters of LED and circumferential screens used in games such as the NBA, a unique and safer ticketing system, suites and boxes of luxury with personalised food and beverage service, air handling units that reduce the probability of contagion of infectious diseases, among other innovations never seen before in Colombia.”
Located in the municipality of Cota, to the west of the capital city, Colieso Live occupies a million-square-foot (93,000m²) site on Calle 80 (80th Street).
The new arena is less than 15 kilometres from Colombia’s first-ever arena, the Movistar Arena (cap. 15,000), which hosts around 90 shows per year.
Read more about Bogotá, and Colombia’s burgeoning live music industry, in IQ Magazine‘s recent feature on Latin America.
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Madison Square Garden, NYC’s legendary venue, has borne witness to just about everything over the years: debauchery, madness and all manner of weird and wonderful stage shows. But until J Balvin rocked up this September for an eagerly anticipated sold-out show, it had never played host to enormous, inflatable, pop-art sculptures, a squadron of puffy, bouncy mascots that looked like sentient clouds, or a singer riding across the stage on a huge yellow duck.
“¡Por la cultura!” (“for culture!”), he declared, before departing, raucous applause and calls for another encore ringing in his ears. It was yet another milestone in the reggaetonero’s meteoric rise to arenas and the top of the charts, and something of a dream for the Colombian star. But then Latin music – música urbana – is enjoying a surge in popularity all over the globe and giving birth to a new generation of superstars.
Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican rapper, sold out MSG back in April; Rosalía, the Spanish singer who combines flamenco with pop, has taken Europe by storm. “I believe we are experiencing the best time for Latin music ever,” says Dody Sirena, a founding partner of DC Set Group, one of Brazil’s biggest promoters.
“If you look at the 2019 RIAA mid-year report, you’ll see that Latin music is continuing to grow at a double-digit pace.”
Henry Cárdenas, CEO of the Cárdenas Marketing Network and the recently crowned Billboard Latin Power Player Executive of the Year for 2019, agrees. “Latin American music is the fastest-growing genre in the world, and it has a tremendous commercial force,” he says. “We have witnessed general market artists venturing into the Latin American market, which continues to expand and pique mass appeal.”
música urbana is enjoying a surge in popularity all over the globe and giving birth to a new generation of superstars
That’s an observation echoed by Nelson Albareda, CEO of Miami-based sports and entertainment operation Loud and Live: “Latin music has quickly become the fastest-growing genre in the global market,” he says. “As it pertains to Latin America, genres such as reggaeton, cumbia, bachata and merengue dominate in major markets including Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.”
That mass appeal means that the genre is “more popular globally than ever before,” according to booking agent Jeremy Norkin of United Talent Agency (UTA). UTA is home to both longstanding Latin music stars such as Pitbull and Sean Paul, and break-out artists like Lali, and Norkin notes that “Latin music has gained a strong presence among multi-genre events that previously haven’t featured the genre.
“For example, Spanish-speaking talent had a significantly larger footprint at 2019’s Lollapalooza festivals in South America.”
The absolute biggest artists remain those who came to prominence during the late-nineties ‘Latin explosion’ – household names who long ago crossed over to ubiquity (think Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony and Enrique Iglesias). But a new generation of musical talent is selling out arenas in Latin America and beyond while racking up staggering streaming numbers and video views; J Balvin and Bad Bunny are just the tip of the iceberg.
Ozuna, Maluma, Luis Fonsi, Becky G, Manuel Turizo and Sech are the most common names cited as representing the future.
A new generation of musical talent is selling out arenas while racking up staggering streaming numbers and video views
“They have tremendous talent,” says Cárdenas, of the latter three in particular, “and they are leading the way for a new generation of stars.”
“Ozuna, Lunay, and Rosalía” are Phil Rodríguez’s choice regarding those ready to ascend to the next level internationally. But Rodríguez, founder of Move Concerts, also notes that it can vary from country to country; in Puerto Rico, for example, trap and reggaeton stars top the charts, while in the USA it’s a more balanced mix of urban acts.
Albareda, whose company recently agreed a deal with Rodríguez’s promoting powerhouse Move Concerts, cites Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Pitbull, Maluma, Ozuna, Daddy Yankee, Romeo Santos, Karol G, Nicky Jam, Farruko, Becky G and Natti Natasha as some of the genre’s biggest stars.
Fernando Moya, of Buenos Aires-based Ozono Producciones cites Maluma, Sebastian Yatra and Tini as his picks, but states, “Paulo Londra, Duki, Wos, Louta and other trap artists are pushing and changing the music charts, having more listeners than pop, reggaeton and Latin music.”
While Latin music has always enjoyed a certain level of popularity – Bruno Del Granado, an agent at Creative Artists Agency, points to Julio Iglesias and Gloria Estefan’s Miami Sound Machine “blowing the door wide open globally” in the 70s and 80s – Cárdenas points to successes by “the Godfathers, Daddy Yankee and Nicky Jam” as opening the floodgates more recently.
“I believe we are experiencing the best time for Latin music ever”
Bad Bunny, too. “You could say he is a poster child for the movement,” says Cárdenas.
And then there’s ‘Despacito’ (which, ironically, translates to “slowly” in English). The song, released in January 2017, was a phenomenon; the official video now has over 6.4 billion views on YouTube, and over 2bn streams on Spotify. It was also the first track primarily sung in a language other than English to pass the billion mark, a game changer that signified a paradigm shift – no longer was an English-language version a necessity for artists looking for hits abroad.
‘Despacito’ also underscored a change in consumer and listening habits. In this brave new world, streams outrank sales and power a model where singles, or a constant flow of new material, matter way more than the narrative and commercial build-up around traditional album campaigns.
Much like in the world of rap and hip-hop, Latin music’s rise has mirrored that of technology and social media, platforms that today’s savvy stars know how to game to their advantage.
“YouTube is the platform of choice for consumers of Latin music,” argues Michel Vega, CEO and founder of Magnus Media, a global management and representative company. “If you look at the top 25 videos globally on any given week, a disproportionate amount will be Latin music.”
“Look at Nicky Jam or Bad Bunny – before, it would have taken an artist years to gain that kind of traction”
Moya believes that radio’s local language format historically held back Latin repertoire. “Digital platforms changed the market, as the audience started to choose what to listening and not just what the radio plays,” he says.
“Before, radio [stations] only played music in English and the native language of the country – they did not experiment with new varieties or styles of music or artists of different countries, regions or cultures. Now, there are no limits. On the contrary, consumers are able to reach random options based on their tastes and have the possibility to discover new types of music, new artist, whatever they want.”
Cárdenas agrees. “Streaming has changed the landscape of the industry for new artists, as these methods of distribution make for easier consumption for the listener. Look at Nicky Jam or Bad Bunny – before, it would have taken an artist years to gain that kind of traction.”
And, as Norkin notes, while word of mouth has always been key, “the difference is that today there are a wide variety of platforms that allow recommendations to be communicated instantaneously and on a massive scale.”
“They have more options than ever to become very popular as an independent”
Such a shift has also seen the new breed of stars ripping up the rulebook and essentially creating new norms as they go. Traditional routes to the top are not as relevant, and artists know their worth.
“Most of them are not interested in advances, 360 deals or traditional media,” says Sirena. “They have more options than ever to become very popular as an independent through distributors or with a major.”
Norkin notes that within this brave new world, some artists got their start – and continue to operate – as their own publishers, record labels and producers. “Many of them even own their own masters,” he says.
A DIY ethic is also strong. While bigger stars still tap into traditional record label systems, Del Granado believes that many new talents “are cognisant that we’re living in a DIY world and so need to do things themselves. From recording to shooting videos to handling social media, they have become masters of their domain.”
Continue reading this feature in the digital edition of IQ 86, or subscribe to the magazine here.
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Henry Cárdenas, president and executive director of US-based promoter Cárdenas Marketing Network (CMN), has acquired Arena Bogotá, a 24,000-seat entertainment and sports venue under construction in Bogota, Colombia.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though Colombia-born Cárdenas says he has made a “multimillion-dollar investment” in the arena, which will occupy a million-square-foot (93,000m²) site on Calle 80 (80th Street) in the Colombian capital.
Founded in 2002 and based in Chicago and Miami, CMN produces tours by Latin stars including Marc Anthony, Bad Bunny, Maluma, Nicky Jam, Chayanne, Becky G and Sech, as well as ¡Viva Latino! Live, the package tour based on the Spotify playlist of the same name. Cárdenas also leads Cárdenas Entertainment and Marketing Group (CEMG), founded in 2018 to manage the Arena Bogotá project.
According to Cárdenas, Arena Bogotá will have a number of unique features, including a 131’ (40m)-high roof which can support 110 tons – allowing for bigger production than is currently possible in Colombia – and over 40,000sqft (3,700m²) of storage space, allowing ten trucks to load in simultaneously (more than anywhere else in Latin America).
“I am very proud to be able to become the entertainment ambassador in my native country, and to be able to welcome everyone to Arena Bogotá, which will be the home to all Colombians, businessmen and promoters, artists and live music events, business conventions and sports that our country deserves,” says Cárdenas.
“It’s about time that Colombia had a building that was able to offer more and better shows”
“For the first year of operations we plan to perform between 130 and 140 shows, which means about three events per week, including family events, corporate, live music, sports – for example, motocross, Olympic sports, indoor soccer, boxing, volleyball, tennis, basketball, et cetera – esports, parades and equine events, among others.
Cárdenas says there is no space in Latin America comparable to Arena Bogotá. “There are some similarities with Arena Mexico [16,500-cap.], but even so there are none that have the qualities and grandiosity of Arena Bogotá.
“As a way to compare the relative size, we can look to the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, which includes 17,000 seats, whereas Arena Bogotá will have 24,000. This great space gives us the flexibility to perform events and shows that we otherwise may not have been able to do.”
A percentage of the arena’s profits will go the Maestro Cares Foundation, founded by Cárdenas and Marc Anthony, to support charitable projects in Colombia.
“It’s about time that Colombia had a building that was able to offer more and better shows,” concludes Cárdenas. “In the second half of 2020, we will have access to a dream venue to enjoy shows like Marc Anthony, Carlos Vives, Maluma, Nicky Jam, Bad Bunny, Becky G, Silvestre Dangond, Wisin and Yandel, Ricardo Arjona, Maná and Romeo Santos, among others, with our family and friends.
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