Salsa star and Sony BMG sign innovative touring deal

By Leila Cobo

MIAMI (Billboard) - In what represents a first for the Latin music industry, a major label -- Sony BMG -- will promote all performances by a major artist -- Puerto Rican salsa star Gilberto Santa Rosa.

The deal struck between Santa Rosa and Day 1, a talent development division of Sony BMG's Latin-American arm, marks a departure from the revenue-sharing model that other Latin labels have recently taken up with their artists. Where Universal Music Latino, for example, is involved in tour sponsorships for rock singer Juanes and gets a percentage of his touring revenue, Day 1 will also represent Santa Rosa in all his public performances, either directly or by working with independent promoters in specific markets.

"We have a very specific relationship that applies to touring and live dates," Sony BMG/Day 1 managing director Ruben Leyva says. However, Leyva says, "we are in partnership with Gilberto Santa Rosa, and the purpose is to bring him opportunities. We could both be big winners from the ability to coordinate all aspects revolving around his CD release, promotion, marketing and touring as opposed to those parts being isolated, as they often are."

Day 1 has been operational since January, and since then, it has entered different types of agreements with a variety of acts, ranging from full-fledged management to specific projects or sponsorship opportunities. But Santa Rosa is the first major artist within the company to sign all his touring to Day 1.

"I believe in this," says Santa Rosa, who has been signed to Sony for nearly 20 years. "I think when everything is in-house, you can work better."

That Santa Rosa has chosen to take the Day 1 route speaks volumes, particularly because his contract wasn't up for renewal. As one of the leading salsa artists in the market, he typically plays 100-plus dates per year, which, for the past decade, have been booked through his own company, PMC.

In this case, he'll give an undisclosed percentage of his performance revenue to Day 1, with ambitions to expand his live audience in the long term. "With tropical music, it's sometimes difficult to get out of a certain performance circuit," Santa Rosa says. "My plans need a different type of organization, one that has a system in place to take what I do to another level."

Specifically, Santa Rosa wants to go beyond playing salsa dances and tropical events and further expand his theatrical performances, which involve a bigger production and include his pop repertoire. He also hopes to open up new performance markets, including Chile and Bolivia.