Latin songwriter/producer releases solo disc

By Leila Cobo

MIAMI (Billboard) - Tommy Torres is known in the music industry as a prolific songwriter and producer for the likes of Ricky Martin and Jaci Velasquez.

But many don't know Torres the artist, a singer/songwriter whose solo career has been set aside by his success in other areas.

Now, in the wake of the April 1 release of his third solo album, "Tarde o Temprano," Torres is banking on a new record label -- Warner Music Latina -- a new sound and a more open-minded radio scene to really get his voice heard.

"From a certain point of view, I'm starting from scratch, but I feel the industry already knows me, and radio is opening the doors to me far more than before," Torres says, speaking from his home in Puerto Rico.

"And I'm glad it's been that way because I have more to offer on this album than on my past ones. The elements I'm bringing in this time, as a Latin and as a Puerto Rican, have much more personality than the things I did in the past, which were more traditional pop/rock."

Torres' first single, "Pegadito," has yet to enter Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart, although the song is getting airplay in Puerto Rico and on pop-driven FM radio networks like Exa and Superestrella.

Warner Music Latino marketing director Albert Ramirez says the label's initial target is a younger demo, one that is perhaps more attuned to the Internet than to radio. Warner will soon upload behind-the-scenes webisodes with Torres to YouTube.

"He already has a name," Ramirez says. "Now, we're trying to make sure people know his face."