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Tags: Daddy Yankee, documentary, don omar, DVD, outreach, prison, Puerto Rican, radio
Knowledge is Power!
Having Achieved Tremendous Chart Successes While Updating And Transforming Music Marketing With An Aggressive “In-The Community & On-The Streets” Outreach Model That Brought New Music Directly To The People, UBO Will Live On In The Enduring Success Of Releases Such As The Genre Defining Chosen Few: El Documental Reggaeton Compilations, The International Attention Of The “Nuestro Himno”/ Somos Americanos Project, And Artists Such As Andy Andy, Tempo & Many More
Although recently cited by Billboard as the label “behind some of the most successful Latin releases of the past year,” innovative Latin/Urban music company URBAN BOX OFFICE (UBO) is ceasing operations immediately as it failed to find funding to support its planned 2007 release schedule which included new albums from the legendary Tempo (featuring collaborations with Daddy Yankee, Wisin y Yandel, Tego Calderon, Pitbull, Fat Joe, Hector “El Father” and the London Symphony Orchestra), as well as Andy Andy, Reggaeton Ninos, LDA, Tony Sunshine and El Draft 2007.
Statement From Adam Kidron, UBO President & CEO:
“While I am proud, very proud, of the energy, optimism and innovation we brought to the business of music I am terribly disappointed not to have the opportunity to finish the job, and concerned that our failure may give more ammunition to those who say that radical change is not possible. If I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do it again, I would not change the selection of artists for they have been magnificent; nor would I tinker with the Freedom model that gives those artists the right to own their own masters, but I would more militantly control our own costs so that the $10, $8, &$6 CDs that we have proven consumers want were commercial as well as marketing realities. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our vendors, our artists and most of all our employees for their resilience, brilliance, belief, and add that I am profoundly sorry that I have not been able to deliver a win.
Having played an essential role in the explosive growth of reggaeton as the genre’s #1 charting independent label, and having redefined approaches to Latin music retail & marketing by both formulating an aggressive “In-The Community & On-The Streets” outreach model and simultaneously supporting progressive charitable causes benefiting those same communities, UBO will be remembered for breaking new ground with a number of inventive releases. Some of their pioneering projects & initiatives included:
o Producer Boy Wonder’s Chosen Few: El Documental CD & DVD: The Latin Music Industry’s #1 selling Reggaeton compilation, winner of a Billboard Latin Music Award and critically praised documentary that was adapted as the first-ever Reggaeton special on MTV.
o “Reggaeton Latino” – First radio single from Chosen Few, Don Omar’s genre-defining anthem became reggaeton’s ultimate mission statement of cultural pride and signaled “reggaeton demanding world-historical impact.”(New York Times)
o “Nuestro Himno”/Somos Americanos: Dubbed by media as The Spanish National Anthem, “Nuestro Himno” easily became the most-talked about Latin music recording of the year within just hours of its initial release. By simply bringing together a collection of Latin artists to show their patriotism and provide recent immigrants with insight into the cultural pride of the national anthem in a language they could understand, UBO fostered an intensive national debate on language and inclusiveness vs. racism.
o Spearheading the FREE TEMPO Campaign: UBO undertook a lead role of both organization and support for the campaign to free pioneering Latin Urban artist TEMPO. Supported by all the major stars of Reggaeton and numerous social organizations such as the NAACP, the Free Tempo Campaign seeks the release of the groundbreaking young Puerto Rican artist who was falsely accused and unjustly imprisoned on federal narcotics conspiracy charges without any supporting physical evidence. The campaign has both developed a strong Appellant’s Brief for upcoming consideration by the Federal Court of Appeals, and provided Tempo the opportunity to record an awaited new album.
o El Draft – The first reggaeton compilation to showcase the genre’s second wave of rising stars, El Draft helped break artists such as Rakim y Ken that have become genre mainstays
o Andy Andy – UBO’s release of Andy Andy’s album Ironí netted THREE Billboard Latin Music Awards for the talented multi-genre artist.
o Numerous Special Events & Community Retail Programs”¦ that saw the label’s team of Freedom Girls on the streets and accounting for a full 20% of retail sales, as well as sales outreach in Barber shops, bodegas and other community gathering points. Some of these programs included “The Great Gas Giveaway” with Bimbo, The Andy Andy $4.00 CD, The performance of Nuestro Himno on Ellis Island, and most recently, the use of a wrapped RV to sell a record-number of Chosen Few II CDs on the streets of New York City.
Concluding the passionate work of UBO, Adam Kidron summarizes that “In the sense that nothing ever dies, UBO will live on in the future accomplishments of the artists that we helped launch. We are fiercely proud of the new trails we were able to help them blaze and remain convinced that the only way to meet today’s new industry challenges such as download, sharing, bootlegging and more, is to grow the overall market through better and less expensive products”
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