In a bid to bolster its presence in the Musica Mexicana market, Downtown Artist & Label Services has signed Beto Vega and expanded its partnership with Kartel Music.

Additionally, the company has augmented its team in Mexico over the past two years to support its growing operations in the region, including promoting Daniela Gutiérrez to Senior Marketing Manager and hiring Lorena Cabral as Senior Manager, A&R for Mexico.

Cabral, based in Monterrey, will spearhead emerging and established artist development initiatives, starting with the signing of Vega. She joins Gutiérrez in reporting to the VP of Marketing, Geoff Halliday. Downtown Artist also hired Yusim Aladro and Frida Bolio as Latin Project Manager and Regional Account Manager, respectively. They are both based in Mexico City.

Beto Vega, nominated at the Latin Grammy Awards in 2018 for Best Regional Mexican Music Album, joins Downtown’s extensive roster, which already boasts notable names like Alzada Music (home to the late Lefty SM, as well as Yoss Bones, Neto Peña, Tose One and Zxmyr), Delux Music Group (Daniel Garcia and Erick B) and Master Q (Los Tucanes de Tijuana).

Vega has over 1 million monthly listeners. Following the success of his multi-million streamed hits like Me Dicen Nini , the artist is set to release a new track called Los Brothers with Edgardo Nuñez.

Downtown Artist & Label says its success in Musica Mexicana is evident in its recent achievements, with a 65% increase in streams over the last 12 months to witness an average of over 200 million daily streams for songs in this genre.

The company’s collaboration with Kartel Music resulted in Luis R. Conriquez‘s album, Corridos Bélicos, Vol. IV, securing the top spot on Spotify‘s Top Albums Debut chart and becoming the highest-charting new release on the Billboard 200 of the week.

“The industry vets at Downtown have been a great team for us to distribute and market our artists’ music, and we’re always happy to work with them. The work they have done for projects like Luis R. Conriquez makes us feel comfortable and confident in their skills – we always feel prepared, and know that while working with them, we’re always ready for what’s next,” said Carlos Santos, Label Manager of Kartel Music.

“The industry vets at Downtown have been a great team for us to distribute and market our artists’ music, and we’re always happy to work with them.”

Carlos Santos, Kartel Music

Ben Patterson, President of Downtown Artist & Label Services, said, “I’m passionate about Downtown’s all-hands focus on Musica Mexicana. With Ray and Daniela receiving additional support from Lorena, Yusim and Frida, we were able to kick start 2024 with an explosive release of Luis R. Conriquez’s Corridos Belicos IV via Kartel Music that was the highest charting new release on the Billboard 200.”

“I’m passionate about Downtown’s all-hands focus on Musica Mexicana… we were able to kick start 2024 with an explosive release of Luis R. Conriquez’s Corridos Belicos IV via Kartel Music that was the highest charting new release on the Billboard 200.”

Ben Patterson, Downtown Artist & Label Services

“With our team expanding and continued worldwide investment in our artist services we’re able to give new signings like Beto Vega a global team that champions and supports his creative vision.”

Downtown Artist & Label Services was formed in April 2023 as a new division under Downtown Music Holdings (DMH)-owned Downtown Music. The division was formed from Downtown’s distribution arm, DashGo, which Downtown acquired in 2019 when it bought AVL Digital Group for an estimated $200 million.

Artist & Label Services now caters to over 2 million clients from 145 countries representing a catalog of over 38 million music assets across different genres and languages. The division offers music creation, distribution, publishing, marketing, royalty collection, financing, accounting and payment services.

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