Today, Latino Artists Can Flourish Globally On Their Own

©iStock/Helena GH

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, artists like Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira ruled the pop charts.  But who was that so-called Latin Explosion actually for, and what were the business considerations behind it?

The great story about Ricky, for example, was that music executives decided to do this 'crossover' with him.  Crossover being:

"He was an artist that would sell out stadiums throughout South America and Mexico," says Leila Cobo, vice president at Billboard and author of Decoding Despacito: An Oral History of Latin Music. "But outside of the Spanish-speaking world, people really didn't know him."

Well that certainly changed thanks to streaming and technology.