Warner Music Latin America and management and promotion company OCESA Seitrack are launching a booking and brand partnership agency for artists, together with broadcaster Sergio “Checho” Rodríguez. All Warner Music artists will have access to the services offered.
The joint venture, called “Touring the World,” will be helmed by Rodriguez — operating from offices in Colombia, Mexico, Spain and the United States — and will offer artists support in different areas related to touring, brand partnerships, booking and other artist services. It will be supported by Warner Music’s expertise and infrastructure as well as OCESA Seitrack’s massive commercial structure in multiple countries. Touring the World will also have support from its existing artist services company, Get In, which is owned by Warner Music Spain.
The new joint venture, says Warner Music Latin America president Alejandro Duque, “signifies a pivotal moment, as we combine our experience to deliver professional services and global opportunities for artists.”
“This is a joint venture and the vision is for it to be independent,” adds Duque. “We want to avoid conflicts of interest, and for that to work, it has to be an independent agency.”
Not all Warner artists, for example, will be part of Touring the World nor will they be compelled to sign with the agency. By the same token, OCESA Seitrack, which is a massive concert promoter and management company with clients like Alejandro Sanz and Ha*Ash, will continue to operate its other businesses, separate from Touring the World.
Touring the World wants to “expand the concept of booking and provide a solution for artists so they can have both a touring strategy together with branding and sponsorship efforts,” says Alex Mizrahi, CEO and founder of OCESA Seitrack. The company will focus on artists “that are heating up and who we think have global potential.”
The list of artists currently signed to Touring the World include Piso 21, Manuel Medrano, Elena Rose, Yng Lucas, Blessd, Molotov, Lagos and Ximena Sariñana. Of note is that Touring The World is not looking to become a management company or a concert promotion company if one is already in place.
“We don’t want to take away business or management from anyone. We’ll work with existing managers if they’re interested […] But, it’s very important for us to have the best interests of the artists in mind,” says Mizrahi. “Over the past 20 years at OCESA Seitrack, we’ve meticulously built the touring commercial structure we possess today. This alliance between friends and renowned professionals promises immense benefits for the artists and managers we collaborate with.”
The notion of Touring the World was sparked over a friendly breakfast with Duque, Mizrahi and Rodríguez, a concert promoter who was also a director at GTS, UMG’s artist management and services company for Latin and Spanish artists. Under the GTS model, however, artists are managed or co-managed by GTS, while Touring the World will not be acting as management.
“Touring the World is created by and for artists and their fans,” says Rodríguez, who will oversee teams in Colombia and Mexico and work closely with Spain’s Get In. “This alliance fills me with excitement, standing alongside the finest partners one could ask for.”
Beyond their respective expertise, the partners also bring to the table in-culture and in-country expertise throughout Latin America and Spain.
Iñigo Argomaniz, founder and CEO of Get In, states: “The union of these forces for the creation of ‘Touring the World’ is exciting and will enable a wide range of opportunities to develop the careers of Spanish artists in America.”
