Here, IQ‘s proudly presents the second and final part of our behind the scenes feature on Latina sensation Karol G’s record-breaking Mañana Será Bonito Tour. Read part one here.

Unstoppable
And so to Europe, where Karol G has genuinely broken new ground – not only was it her first EU tour, but it was an arena tour, too – with some stadiums thrown in to bring the curtain down. Many artists and their teams would perhaps have approached their first steps in a new continent with trepidation, but not her. “We had a sense of the global opportunity at hand for Karol as soon as the USA tour launched in the summer of 2023,” says her worldwide agent, Jbeau Lewis of UTA.

“We started planning Latin America and Europe concurrently at that point, for spring and summer 2024, respectively.”
Lewis attributes the delay in hitting Europe to the desire of wanting to do things “‘right,’ as opposed to ‘right now.’” Besides, he adds, “Karol’s incredible success touring in North America and South America provided all the confidence we needed to step into arenas and stadiums in Europe. As a bona fide global star, we had no reason to think she could not be successful.”

Planning for the EU leg of the tour started in June 2023, when her team started reaching out directly to all of the arenas in markets of interest to ensure they could have complete control over the routing and to secure the best avails whilst European promoter conversations were ongoing. “Given the success of the previous US and Latin American tours, there was certainly an expectation from fans that they should get the same experience on the European shows,” says Jules de Lattre, her UTA EU agent. “European success was all about timing and pent-up demand – it made sense for Europe to take place at the high point of the Maňana Será Bonito campaign off the back of significant momentum built up in the US and Latin America.”

But the European leg was built on more than just vibes and a sense of destiny – cold, hard “significant” data was key, too, and her team were confident about the routing, the host cities, and which countries to visit. “We naturally focused on major Latin markets such as Spain, Portugal, and Italy, as well as the major European capitals with significant Spanish-speaking communities – so London, Paris, Zurich, and Amsterdam, says De Lattre. “In addition, we decided to add traditionally smaller markets in Antwerp, Cologne, and Berlin, where we expected the fans would travel to. All three cities sold out within a week, which is by far the best result of any Latin artist in these venues.”

Early planning allowed the team to hold second nights in London, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Paris, and multiple nights at the Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. Furthermore, the plan was to announce single shows in all markets before comfortably rolling into second nights where they could see the demand was evident. As an example, in Madrid, it quickly became apparent that a second, then a third date, was more than feasible. Then a fourth. And, says De Lattre, “all indicators pointed to there being a demand for at least two more Madrid shows.”

“The incredible live content European fans were seeing from shows in North and South America really created a sense of FOMO that all marketeers seek to achieve”

But within each market, some of the city choices were, he adds, dictated by the venues they wanted to present the show in. “There was the Sportpaleis in Antwerp, the impressive Lanxess Arena in Cologne, the Forum in Milan, and the Uber Arena
demographic, particularly Spanish speakers, and driving this level of devotion and fandom. Karol and her team are extremely creative, so as De Lattre says, they have to do very little in order to amplify that content to a wider audience and convert those eyeballs into ticket sales. “The incredible live content European fans were seeing from shows in North and South America over the last year really created a sense of FOMO that all marketeers seek to achieve,” he adds.

A creatively crafted tour announcement video featuring images of every city on the tour was a big part of that. But Lewis also credits a “musicality that fans can feel regardless of language barriers and a positive and magnetic personality and message,” that “all combine to move both culture and tickets.”

The European run, however, did require a few tweaks and changes to overcome certain challenges. “For the European leg, the ImageSFX team was tasked with taking the stadium tour and paring it down to fit in Europe’s arena environment,” says Heath. “Many of the special effects cues included in the stadium run were centred on the top of the stage’s rooftop, which doesn’t exist in the arena environment. Ahead of touching down, our team needed to find creative solutions to repurpose the cues from the roof onto the stage. Pyro product was decreased in size and different flame equipment was used in order to meet both safety standards and trim heights onstage.”

Screens were also changed slightly. “The stadium legs and the European arena leg have required different looks and methods to achieve the designers’ unified vision across all legs of the tour,” says Screenworks’ Brad Reiman. “It was key to achieving the same vibe at different scales, from velodromes in Europe to massive football stadiums in the US and South America, and the shows at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu.”

Artist manager Giraldo comments, “For Karol, the most important thing is the experience the fans get to live during her shows, since that is what creates a real connection between her fans, her music, and herself. All of the elements (lights, music, wardrobe, video, choreography, pyro, cameras) that fans get to experience are a true representation of Karol’s essence and authenticity, since she is involved in every single detail.”

Adding to that connection, the production also hands out PixMob’s LED wristbands to fans – effectively making them part of the show’s lighting design. “As an album, Mañana Será Bonito has such eye-catching visuals that it took on a life of its own once it was released,” says PixMob’s Hila Aviran, director of tours and entertainment. “We wanted to make sure fans felt like they were experiencing the album come to life and living every song as the show progressed. This shared vision was the inspiration for the super bright, vibrant colours and big moving effects in the audience.

“After we put up the second Bernabéu show, we checked online, and at that point, there were 493,000 people ahead of us in the queue”

“For the last shows in Madrid, the artist and her team wanted to go all out. So together, we designed a 6-LED PixMob wristband with 360° light diffusion. This wristband is made of sustainable materials (no silicone, no single-use plastic) and six mega LEDs powered by powerful alkaline batteries with the signature Mañana Será Bonito artwork across the wrist strap.”

Those four shows were certain to bring the tour to a fittingly grandiose conclusion – literally going out with a bang. “The goal was to create something truly special for the Spanish audience,” says Live Nation’s Spanish promoter Nacho Córdoba. “Karol G is the first artist to sell out four shows at the Bernabéu, breaking a record that no other artist had previously achieved.”

Just how crazy was demand for this particular show? “After we put up the second Bernabéu show, we checked online, and at that point, there were 493,000 people ahead of us in the queue!” recalls De Lattre.

Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful
For her team and those who work alongside her, the accolades, the acclaim, and the sheer passion she inspires in her fans is truly something special – and utterly deserved. “Simply put, no artist has bigger ambition or works harder – Karol has a sense of the moment like no other,” says Lewis. “She understands both the opportunity at hand now and the fact that she has built something sustainable for the long-term and will stop at nothing to achieve the goals she has set for herself.”

Then again, what else would you expect from a true bichota at the top of her game? “As with any successful organisation, the business takes the tone of its leadership – Karol is unequivocally the boss, and the way she treats her team and everyone she meets with respect and positivity is infectious,” continues Lewis. “Whether she crosses paths with the teamster in the morning or the janitor as she exits the venue, Karol always connects with them. The radiant power of her quick smile or ‘hello’ is undeniable.” For Karol G, it’s not just tomorrow that looks good – it’s the foreseeable and beyond.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Online video game Fortnite has announced a ‘playable concert’ with Latin superstar Karol G as part of its Festival Season 5.

Karol G MSB Fortnite is billed as a five-part visual journey through the Colombian singer’s life and music career, which runs from 23–26 August.

Karol G songs available to play in the Fortnite Festival rhythm music game include Oki Doki, Provenza (Remix), Cairo and Qlona.

Players can also purchase an upgrade called Premium Reward Track which will unlock Karol G-themed items including the Bichota Season Karol G Outfit, the Bichota Mic, and the Bichota 6-String Guitar.

While Fortnite itself is developed by Epic Games, the Festival game mode is developed by Harmonix – the studio behind the Rock Band video game franchise. Harmonix was acquired by Epic in November 2021 to develop Fortnite experiences.

Karol G songs available to play in the Fortnite Festival rhythm music game include Oki Doki, Provenza (Remix), Cairo and Qlona

Karol G is the latest musical icon to appear in Fortnite Festival, following in the footsteps of Metallica, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish.

The reggaeton star recently wrapped her Mañana Será Bonito Tour, which sold more than two million tickets, grossed $300 million and shattered attendance and revenue records in Europe, the US and Latin America.

The latest edition of IQ goes behind the scenes of the year-long tour to find out how her crew and advisors cope with the ever-growing fanbase and the demands they make on Latin America’s newest megastar.

“We always knew [the tour] was going to be big – there was such a level of demand and excitement – but we didn’t know how big,” Live Nation’s Joe Schiavon, the tour’s promoter, told IQ.

Subscribers of IQ can read the full feature here. Not a subscriber? Click here to change that or check out what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

IQ 129, the latest issue of the international live music industry’s favourite magazine, is available to read online now.

In our August edition, we unveil our hotly-anticipated New Bosses 2024 list as we profile 20 of the most promising 30-and-unders in the international business.

We also go behind the scenes on Latina sensation Karol G’s record-breaking, year-long Mañana Será Bonito Tour as she takes the world by storm, while AEG’s VP Venue Programming for The O2 and Europe Emma Bownes is profiled to celebrate her 25 years in the business.

Elsewhere, IQ investigates how Las Vegas has become the hottest entertainment market in the world and take a fresh look at the contemporary Swedish live market.

Meanwhile, What’s Going On… in Malta? investigates why so many major names are suddenly heading to the small Mediterranean archipelago.

In addition, we look at the programme of panels and events at IFF 2024 in a comprehensive preview of the tenth edition of the gathering, which takes place from 24-26 September, with 1,000 booking agents and festival professionals expected to participate.

For this edition’s columns, there is commentary from Fil Palermo from Australia’s Untitled Group on the need for inclusivity in event planning, as well as Nick Bonard of Montreux Jazz Festival Media Ventures, who advises on alternative ways to market your festival brand.

As always, the majority of the magazine’s content will appear online in some form in the next four weeks.

However, if you can’t wait for your fix of essential live music industry features, opinion and analysis, click here to subscribe to IQ – or check out what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below:

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

After shattering attendance and revenue records in the US and Latin America, Karol G has continued to make history – this time in Europe.

The Colombian singer’s Mañana Será Bonito Europe Summer Tour has become the largest Latin music European tour ever, according to promoter Live Nation.

The trek includes sold out days in 10 cities, and sees her play two nights respectively at Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome in the Netherlands, London’s The O2 in the UK, Paris’s Accor Arena in France, Milan’s Mediolanum Forum in Italy and Lisbon’s MEO Arena in Portugal.

“We haven’t seen a Latin artist sell tickets of this magnitude in both speed and number of tickets,” Hans Schafer, Live Nation’s SVP of global touring, tells Pollstar. “The trend is that the landscape has shifted. You’re seeing [Latin] culture sort of infuse itself in the cities at all different levels, and all those things are that canary we’re following and looking for that opportunity where we can try some things out.”

She closes the run with four stadium performances at Madrid’s Estadio Santiago Bernabéu (85,000) from 20-23 July. G is the first artist to fully sell out four consecutive nights at the Spanish stadium.

Among other milestones, the 33-year-old is now the first Latin artist to perform twice as part of the same tour at the Ziggo Dome, the Latin artist who sold the most tickets and the fastest sell-out in London, the first Latin artist to perform twice at the Accor Arena and the top-selling Latin female artist at the Meo Arena. She will also be the first female artist to hold four consecutive stadium concerts in Spain.

“People are coming to the party of Karol G who may not even speak a lick of Spanish. They’re inspired by who she is and what she’s about”

Karol G is represented worldwide by UTA’s Jbeau Lewis, Jules de Lattre and Tom Matthews, and managed by Noah Assad of Rimas Entertainment.

“Karol is an indisputable global superstar,” adds Lewis. “One of hers and our goals is to use this platform she has to take Latin music around the world. People are coming to the party of Karol G who may not even speak a lick of Spanish. They’re inspired by who she is and what she’s about.”

The reggaeton star sold more than one million tickets during the Latin American leg of her Mañana Será Bonito Tour, smashing several records across numerous LatAm countries.

Beginning the tour in Mexico in February, the Grammy Award winner became the first female Latin artist to sell out three nights at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium (cap. 87,523). She went on to do two nights in Guatemala, where she sold the most tickets for any international artist in the country, and broke Coldplay’s record by selling 104,686 tickets over two nights at Costa Rica’s national stadium.

G also became the first female artist to sell out two nights at the Dominican Republic’s Olympic Stadium (60,000) and three shows at Chile’s national stadium (60,000). She’s the only artist to sell out two nights at Venezuela’s Estadio Monumental (84,567) and became the fastest Latin female artist to sell out two stadium shows in Argentina with her two Estadio Vélez Sarsfield (49,540) performances.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Latin superstar Karol G sold over one million tickets during the Latin American leg of her Mañana Será Bonito Tour, shattering several records across numerous LatAm countries.

In support of her fourth studio album, the Colombian singer embarked on the second leg of her ‘Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful’ Tour in February after wrapping up a 15-city stadium run across the United States, plus two multi-act ‘Mañana Será Bonito Fest’ shows at her home Estadio Atanasio Girardot stadium (cap. 45,900) in Medellin, Colombia.

Beginning the Live Nation-backed LatAm tour in Mexico, the Grammy-Award-winning songstress became the first Latina artist to sell out three nights at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium (cap. 87,523) — the largest stadium in the region. She went on to do two nights in Guatemala, where she sold the most tickets for any international artist in the country. In Costa Rica, she broke Coldplay’s record by selling 104,686 tickets over two nights at the country’s national stadium.

Breaking records at nearly every stop on her 15-city venture, Karol G became the first female artist to sell out two nights at the Dominican Republic’s Olympic Stadium (60,000) and three shows at Chile’s national stadium (60,000). She’s the only artist to sell out two nights at Venezuela’s Estadio Monumental (84,567) and became the fastest Latin female artist to sell out two stadium shows in Argentina with her two Estadio Vélez Sarsfield (49,540) performances.

The reggaeton starlet kicks off her debut European tour next month, and is already breaking records in the continent

This leg concluded last Friday (10 May) at São Paulo’s Centro Esportivo Tietê (16,000), G’s first show in Brazil. Organisers upgraded to the sporting complex from the 8,000-capacity Espaço Unimed after high demand for the Spanish-singing starlet from the Portuguese-speaking market. She’s due to return to the country to co-headline the seven-day festival Rock in Rio in September.

Next month, the 33-year-old reggaeton starlet will tour Europe for the first time, starting at Zürich’s Hallenstadion (11,200). The 18-date arena tour, to which eight shows were added after the initial announcement, will see her play two nights respectively at Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome, London’s The O2, Paris’s Accor Arena, Milan’s Mediolanum Forum and Lisbon’s MEO Arena.

The European leg will close with four stadium performances from Billboard’s 2024 Woman of the Year at Madrid’s Estadio Santiago Bernabéu (85,000), the first artist to sell out four consecutive nights at the venue.

Karol G, real name Carolina Giraldo Navarro, is represented worldwide by UTA’s Jbeau Lewis and Ryan Soroka.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Latin superstar Karol G has continued to break records with her Mañana Será Bonito LATAM Tour, recording the highest ever ticket sales for a concert in Costa Rica.

The Colombian singer-songwriter, who is represented worldwide by Jbeau Lewis and Ryan Soroka at UTA, sold 104,686 tickets across her sold-out 9-10 March shows at Estadio Nacional in San José.

The two dates were promoted by Move Concerts and broke the previous record set by Coldplay, who launched their Music of the Spheres Tour at the venue in 2022.

Karol G recently became the first artist to sell out four nights at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium

G recently became the first artist to sell out four nights at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Spain, where she will stop from 20-23 July as part of her Live Nation-promoted European tour debut, Mañana Será Bonito (Tomorrow Will Be Nice).

The Mañana Será Bonito LATAM Tour kicked off in Mexico City in February, when she became the first female artist to sell out the Estadio Azteca for three consecutive nights, with 80,000 attendees per night. The trek will visit the Dominican Republic this weekend, before moving on to Perú, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.

Last year, the reggaeton star grossed $145 million with 843,000 tickets sold for just 18 shows, and also became the first female artist to reach #1 on Billboard Top 200 with a Spanish-language album. She also made history in Puerto Rico by becoming the first artist ever to sell out three nights at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, drawing more than 100,000 fans across the trio of concerts.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Colombian reggaeton superstar Karol G has announced her long-awaited European tour debut, bringing Mañana Será Bonito (Tomorrow Will Be Nice) to arenas and stadiums across the continent.

The 10-date outing, produced by Live Nation, will kick off on 8 June 2024 at Hallenstadion (cap. 15,000) in Zurich, Switzerland.

Stops include Cologne, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Milan, Antwerp, Berlin and Lisbon, with the tour closing at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium (65,000) in Madrid, Spain, on 20 July.

The European leg will follow her 27-date trek across 14 cities in Latin America, which stretches from 8 February to 10 May.

The announcement comes at the end of a historic year that saw the singer-songwriter gross $145 million with 843,000 tickets sold in just 18 shows. She also became the first female artist to reach #1 on Billboard Top 200 with a Spanish-language album.

At the end of last year, some of the biggest executives in the Latin music industry placed their bets on Karol G breaking through on an international level this year.

The 32-year-old, whose real name is Carolina Giraldo Navarro, is represented worldwide by Jbeau Lewis and Ryan Soroka at UTA.

Tomorrow Will Be Nice 2024 European Tour Dates:

08 June 2024 Zurich, Switzerland Hallenstadion

11 June 2024 Cologne, Germany Lanxess Arena

June 14, 2024 Amsterdam, Netherlands Ziggo Dome

18 June 2024 London, UK The O2

22 June 2024 Paris, France Accor Arena

25 June 2024 Milan, Italy Milan Forum

June 29, 2024 Antwerp, Belgium Sportpaleis

02 July 2024 Berlin, Germany Mercedes-Benz Arena

07 July 2024 Lisbon, Portugal Altice Arena

20 July 2024 Madrid, Spain Santiago Bernabeu Stadium

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Colombian reggaeton superstar Karol G has become the first Latin act to sell out two straight nights at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles.

The 32-year-old singer, who is managed by Noah Assad’s Rimas Entertainment, attracted a total of 120,000 fans across the 18-19 August dates in Pasadena, California.

The three-hour shows were also the highest-grossing concerts by a Latin female artist, earning US$12.8 million (€11.8m) and $12.6m, respectively.

G’s Live Nation-produced Mañana Será Bonito Tour kicked off at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, earlier this month, and has also visited San Francisco’s Levi’s Stadium and Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. Pollstar reports the first four shows of the tour grossed $39.6m.

Karol G is the first female artist to reach No.1 on the US Billboard Top 200 with a Spanish-language album

The trek continues tonight (29 August) in Texas at Houston’s, followed by stops at the Alamodome in San Antonio (31 August), and the Cotton Bowl in Dallas (2 September). It then heads to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey (7-8 September), Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois (15 September), Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia (21 September), Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida (24 September) and Gillette Stadium in Boston, Massachusetts (28 September).

In early 2023, G became the first female artist to reach No.1 on the US Billboard Top 200 with a Spanish-language album, courtesy of her Mañana Será Bonito LP.

In March, meanwhile, she made history in Puerto Rico by becoming the first artist ever to sell out three nights at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, drawing more than 100,000 fans across the trio of Move Concerts and Noah Assad-promoted gigs.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Karol G has made history in Puerto Rico by becoming the first artist ever to sell out three nights at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.

The Colombian reggaeton star drew more than 100,000 fans across the trio of shows, which includes guest appearances by Romeo Santos, Eladio, Sean Paul, Young Miko and Feid, among others.

The 10-12 March concerts were promoted by Move Concerts and Noah Assad, who also manages Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny.

“Puerto Rico has been selling out consistently and shows no sign of slowing down”

“Puerto Rico has been selling out consistently and shows no sign of slowing down,” Move boss Phil Rodriguez told IQ last year. “We co-promoted with Noah Assad three sold-out dates at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico [cap. 18,500] with Bad Bunny in San Juan that paralysed the island as the show was streamed live to 13 municipalities for free. It is estimated over 500,000 people saw the show between the Coliseo and the free transmissions.”

Move Concerts is headquartered in Miami, Florida, and has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and Peru, as well as Puerto Rico, the source of much of the current Latin music explosion.

“Our office in Puerto Rico is killing it,” said Rodriguez. “We sold out two arenas there with Karol G – over 24,000 tickets. We easily could have done two more arena dates there.”

Bad Bunny has been the most streamed artist on Spotify globally in each of the last three years

Bad Bunny usurped Ed Sheeran in 2022 as the highest-grossing touring artist in a calendar year. The rapper generated $435,388,660 for 81 shows in 2022, according to Pollstar data, surpassing the $432.4 million box office takings of Sheeran’s 94 ÷ tour dates in 2018.

Bad Bunny has been the most streamed artist on Spotify globally in each of the last three years, while fellow Puerto Rican acts Rauw Alejandro and Ozuna are also making huge strides internationally.

Puerto Rico’s Coca-Cola Music Hall, meanwhile, reported a total attendance of more than 165,000 people during its first 12 months of operation. Since its opening in August 2021, the 4,200-cap venue in San Juan has hosted 59 concerts and 43 private events by artists such as Ednita Nazario, Caramelos de Cianuro, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Stryper, Jesse & Joy and Louis Tomlinson, among others.

Revisit IQ Magazine‘s full 2022 feature exploring the growth of the Latin American touring market here.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Some of the biggest executives in the Latin music industry have shared their predictions for acts that will break through on an international level.

2022 has been a seminal year for Latin America’s homegrown superstars, led by trap reggaeton artist-come-global superstar, Bad Bunny.

With the Puerto Rican star paving the way for others, IQ asked Bruce Moran (Live Nation Latin America), Phil Rodriguez (Move Concerts) and Carlos Geniso (DG Medios) who might be following in his footsteps.

“The world is ready for a female reggaeton superstar, and in my personal opinion she might be Karol G,” Bruce Moran, president of Latin America at Live Nation, tells IQ.

“Although she is known for her work in reggaeton and trap, she does perform in other genres like sertaneja and more. Her live shows are the stuff of current legend. We think Karol G may be “the next (really) big thing.”

“The world is ready for a female reggaeton superstar, and in my personal opinion she might be Karol G”

Just yesterday (9 October), Karol G’s live legacy was immortalised after her recent $trip Love outing became the highest-grossing US tour by a female Latin act in history.

The Colombian singer-songwriter grossed US$69.9 million across 33 arena shows in North America, during September and October, according to Billboard‘s Boxscore.

The 31-year-old, whose real name is Carolina Giraldo Navarro, is represented worldwide by Jbeau Lewis and Ryan Soroka at UTA, and managed by Noah Assad who also looks after Bad Bunny.

Karol G is also the name on Phil Rodriguez’s lips, who says: “Great talent, top line management. On her next tour she will be moving up to stadium level in various markets.”

The Move Concerts CEO also gave an honourable mention to “other new artists bubbling up such as Tiago PZK, Quevedo [20-year-old Spanish rapper], Eladio Carrion [27-year-old, Grammy Award-nominated American-Puerto Rican rapper] and others that are establishing themselves at arena level such as Rauw Alejandro [29-year-old Puerto Rican singer]”.

Earlier this year, Rodriguez discussed Tiago PZK’s burgeoning career with IQ, saying tickets to see the 21-year-old Argentine rapper and singer were flying off the shelf.

“We went on sale with an arena in Buenos Aires, we sold out in a half hour”

“We went on sale with an arena in Buenos Aires, we sold out in a half hour,” said Rodriguez. “We had to announce a second date, sold that out, too. His debut album hasn’t even dropped, but he’s amazing live and we want to build on that.”

Tiago is now part-way through his 37-date Portales tour – his first-ever – which comprises a mix of arena dates in Latin America, as well as clubs in Spain, England and the US.

The rising star signed to Warner Music Latina earlier this year via a partnership with Rodriguez’s Grand Move Records label.

The Move Concerts boss manages Tiago, while Agustina Cabo, one of IQ’s 2022 New Bosses, is his personal and tour manager.

While Rodriguez and Moran are betting on younger and newer artists to break through, Carlos Geniso of Chilean promoter DG Medios is hedging his bets with more established artists.

“There are many Latin artists who will be presenting new material next year and who will be touring again with world tours,” he tells IQ. “For example, Alejandro Sanz and Pablo Alborán are always a hit in Chile and sell-out venues. They have a loyal fan base that always follows them, and they are very well-liked.

“Another very important artist is Fito Paez, who is celebrating 30 years of his most successful album “El amor después del amor” – a milestone for rock music in Spanish. In addition, urban artists are in a spectacular moment for their rising careers, and I think that’s where we have to put the eye.”

Sanz, a Spanish musician, singer and composer, has already won 22 Latin Grammy Awards and four Grammy Awards, while fellow Spaniard singer-songwriter Pablo Alborán has got five studio albums under his belt. Fito Páez, meanwhile, is a 59-year-old Argentine popular rock and roll pianist, lyricist, singer-songwriter and film director.

Read more about Latin America’s rising stars and burgeoning touring market in IQ‘s recent market report.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.