LATIN MUSIC BIZ SETS SIGHTS ON TEENS
Fri Sep 24, 2004 09:23 PM ET
By Leila Cobo

MIAMI (Billboard) - A youth movement has begun for Latin music in the United States, with labels increasingly signing younger artists and marketing them to a teenage audience.

The teen-oriented acts range from pop/rock singer-songwriters to regional urban acts that blend hip-hop with traditional Mexican sounds.

The fresh wave of acts includes JD Natasha, Yolanda Perez, Ha*ash, Jae-P, Yahir, Kalimba and Belinda. All are in their teens or barely out of them and perform music that their peers can easily relate to.

"It does feel like a fresh new sound is emerging, and it's not just ballads," says Haz Montana, VP of programing for Entravision Communications, which programs the youth-driven Super Estrella radio format for its stations nationwide.

Although most Latin radio formats are traditionally adult-oriented, there has been a rise in the number of media outlets targeting the Latin youth market. These include AOL Latina, the Mun2 TV network and the new MTV Puerto Rico.

In looking for acts with youth appeal, labels have taken a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, they want to replicate the success garnered in Puerto Rico and Mexico, which are more conducive to developing youthful acts.

On the other, for the first time in many years, U.S. labels are seeking talent that is homegrown, bilingual and bicultural and that can speak to a similar generation of teens.

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