Reggaeton Still Rules Roost

During the past year, many voices predicted the imminent demise of reggaeton.

Judging from Billboard's year-end Latin charts, reports of reggaeton's death have been greatly exaggerated.

Reggaeton continues to dominate the Latin charts in 2006, with titles in the genre occupying four of the top five slots of the year-end Top Latin Albums recap.

Daddy Yankee leads the charge. For the second year in a row, he is Latin music's top-selling artist of the year, thanks this time to his live set "Barrio Fino: En Directo." Reggaeton's resiliency, despite that much of the output is stuck in a lyrical and musical rut, underscores the music's wide appeal and its enduring potential to draw a younger Latin audience.

Beyond reggaeton, the only album to share the top five on the Top Latin Albums recap with the boys from Puerto Rico are the boys and girl from Mexico‹RBD.

RBD is also the No. 2 act on the Top Latin Album Artists recap behind Daddy Yankee.

Core fan bases still drive Latin music, with artists like Ana Gabriel, Juan Gabriel, Marco Antonio Solís and Ricardo Arjona dominating the charts beyond the top 10.

But the youth parade reflects that, for the first time, a substantial number of Spanish media outlets are dedicated to a younger-skewing audience. And they clearly listen to and purchase music designed for them.

Other young notables include reggaeton duo Wisin & Yandel, who top the Hot Latin Rhythm Songs Artists and Hot Latin Songs Artists recaps after placing an extraordinary 14 tracks on the Billboard charts.

And newcomers Rakim & Ken-Y score the top title on the Hot Latin Songs recap and the Hot Latin Rhythm Songs tally with "Down," thanks to scaling the Latin rhythm and tropical charts.

Indeed, Latin songs and artists that crossed formats found themselves perched high on multiple charts.

Thus names like Aventura, Yankee, Wisin & Yandel, Don Omar, Tito El Bambino and even Shakira‹whose "Hips Don't Lie" appeared on tropical, rhythm and pop charts‹crop up again and again.

Luny Tunes top the Hot Latin Producers chart for the second year in a row thanks to songs from their big-selling compilations as well as music produced for a wide range of acts. Ditto for Aventura leader Anthony "Romeo" Santos, who upset more established songwriters by leading the Hot Latin Songwriters chart thanks to five titles that played in different formats.

On the tropical end, a more purist note is struck by J&N bachata duo Monchy & Alexandra, who rule the Top Tropical Album Artists chart thanks to three charting albums.

In the regional Mexican realm, Grupo Montez De Durango leads the Top Regional Mexican Albums chart with "Borron Y Cuenta Nueva" (Disa) and is also No. 1 on the Top Regional Mexican Album Artists chart with seven titles.

The Hot Regional Mexican Songs Artists chart is topped by perennial radio favorite Conjunto Primavera, but the real surprise is newcomer Mariano Barba, whose track "Aliado Del Tiempo" on indie Three Sound Records hits No. 1 on the Hot Regional Mexican Songs chart.
In Latin pop, despite stiff competition from Shakira and Maná, RBD amply dominates the fray, heading the Top Latin Pop Albums chart with "Nuestro Amor" (EMI Televisa), Top Latin Pop Album Artists and the Hot Latin Pop Songs.

Despite RBD's supremacy, Sony BMG also leads in all pop and tropical categories, taking No. 1 on Top Latin Album Labels, Top Latin Album Imprints, Hot Latin Songs Imprints and Hot Latin Songs Labels.

Univision Music Group is still the market leader in Latin with more than 30% of all sales. It also leads the Top Regional Mexican Album Labels chart, while newly acquired label Disa leads the Top Regional Mexican Album Imprints chart.

In publishing, EMI Music tops the Hot Latin Publishing Corporations chart, as it did last year, while Universal's Musica Unica leads the Hot Latin Publishers chart.