Gerardo Ortiz Inks Deal With Warner Chappell Music
"I'm excited to see what we'll accomplish together," Ortiz says.
Singer-songwriter Gerardo Ortiz has signed a catalog deal with Warner Chappell Music, which includes his future works and his last two albums, Décimo Aniversario (Deluxe Edition) and Más Caro Que Ayer, the publishing company tells Billboard.
The 32-year-old artist — who in a span of 1o years has has earned six No. 1s on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart and eight No. 1s on the regional Mexican albums list — joins a handful of Mexican music artists (Marco Antonio Solís, Joss Favela and Danny Lux) who in the past few months have joined WCM’s roster.
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“The Regional Mexican market has been growing exponentially and is transcending borders so it’s definitely been a priority for us,” says Gustavo Menéndez, WCM president, U.S. Latin & Latin America. “We’ve been really focused on building a strong presence. We’re also seeing a whole new wave of songwriters that were born in the U.S. but are still grounded to their traditional Mexican roots and that is transferring to their music. Thanks to artists like Gerardo who continue to experiment with different sounds, we’re seeing how new variants of traditional genres like mariachi and corridos can be used in today’s mainstream market.”
A top selling Latin act, Ortiz — who is signed to Sony Music Latin — has helped transform the legacy genre by championing provocative corridos, emotional ranchera ballads while also dabbling into new territories fusing traditional Mexican music sounds with urban and bachata.
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“Regional Mexican music is finally getting the attention it deserves, and there are more opportunities than ever to experiment with different styles and collaborate with other artists,” the “Tranquilito” singer says. “Warner Chappell is known for making connections and working across genres, and I’m excited to see what we’ll accomplish together.”
Menéndez and his team are now focused on “creating a space for cross-collaboration with other genres.” He adds: “Before, most hit songs in Mexico featured an urban or mainstream artist. Today, we’re seeing all the biggest tracks featuring regional Mexican music artists, and we expect to see this same effect cross over to the world.”
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