Nowadays, when talking about reggaeton, everyone knows what music we are talking about, whether they consider themselves a fan or an opponent of it. It is also widely known that it is a very danceables style and that it triumphs in festivals and, above all, in discos and nightclubs attended by thousands of young people every week.
But have you ever wondered about its origins or the reason for its fame, or why is its impact on nightlife in our country and how can this be useful to you?
Born in Puerto Rico in the 1990s, reggaeton was initially considered underground music because of its rhythms (a mixture of dembow, rap and reggae in Spanish) and its characteristic movements, as well as for being produced by and for the lower classes. In this context, it not only talked about love and sex, but also about the different types of violence suffered by this part of society, themes that, to a greater or lesser extent, are still present today.
Coinciding with the beginnings of this genre Puerto Rico registered very high crime rates, associated, according to the State, to the racialized and poorest sectors of reggaeton. For this reason, it was even considered a criminal vehicle.
For their part, the middle and upper social classes also reprimanded this genre for being foul and dirty and “looked down on the young people of the neighborhoods, underestimating us and seeing us as outcasts”, according to the words of Daddy Yankee himself to the Miami New Times magazine.
As previously mentioned, it is in Puerto Rico where reggaeton emerged and where it was defended tooth and nail; but it does not stop there, this country continues to be cradle of the most prominent artists of the current international Latin scene.
Among these artists we find a long list of more than recognized names, such as Daddy Yankee, Bad Bunny, Yandel, Ozuna, Don Omar, Nicky Jam, Ivy Queen, Anuel AA, Myke Towers, Tito el Bambino, Wisin, Ñengo “Flow”, Luis Fonsi o Rauw Alejandro, although the list does not end with them.
We wonder why the vast majority of the artists in this genre come from the same country? The answer is that, in addition to being the birthplace of this genre, the artists named are very committed to their country and to the social and economic improvements it deserves and, therefore, bet on the national product, helping new artists in the area to emerge and achieve fame.
Although the social involvement is not similar, we can also find some Spanish artists related to this music. The most popular are Lola Índigo, Juan Magan, Ana Mena, Bad Gyal and Enrique Iglesias, with Rosalía and C. Tangana drinking from this genre for part of their repertoire. These artists are becoming or already have international fame, although the Boricuas (or Puerto Ricans) take the cake.
However, this music is not only popular and, initially, vindictive, but also very lucrative. In 2019 alone, $8.9 billion was generated in streaming music sales globally, of which 34% ($3.02 billion) came from reggaeton and Latin rhythms. This meant a 40% growth in its popularity on streaming platforms, according to the IFPI’s 2019 Global Report.
In Spain, specifically, Spanish music has been triumphing for a decade over English music, which was on the international podium years ago. In fact, the most listened artists in our country during the past 2021 were, in this order, Rauw Alejandro, Bad Bunny, Myke Towers, JBalvin and Anuel AA, whose music, at least mostly, is categorized as reggaeton.
That said, we have no doubt that, if the population shows so much interest in this musical genre, it must have the potential to generate great economic capital. So much so that reggaeton has crept into the discos and festivals of all Spanish communities.
In fact, the most visited and influential festivals in Spain can be categorized according to their music into electronic or Pop/Indie/Reggaeton, while nightclubs are usually divided between electronic/techno and reggaeton/commercial.
Although the number of nightclubs that frequently play these rhythms in Spain is not known, it is assumed that, in fact, it is the majority, as well as in popular local festivals such as fairs. On the other hand, we do know some figures about the most popular reggaeton festivals in the country, among which we find the following:
As we can see, there are numerous festivals that have recently gone from being held in only one city to now spread over numerous additional locations. For this reason we assume that, in fact, reggaeton is a quite profitable and demanded genre among today0s Spanish youth, as well as among tourists and foreigners at the party halls when they visit our country.
In summary, we can see that reggaeton festivals, nowadays, are quite lucrative and, as a striking fact, most of them are almost sold out. Obviously, not everyone can organize a music festival (nor know how to do it) and succeed with it, but we do believe that this analysis can be used in your business, especially if it is a nightclub or a party room.
So, we recommend you to study your audience, to investigate their tastes and needs to offer them what they want and, incidentally, to know a little more about the origin of a style as catchy as popular, while controversial among certain sectors.