Latin Notas: Grammys Shift Categories

Even as the Latin Grammy Awards prepare for their New York debut on Nov. 2, the mainstream Grammys have been busy revising the categories within the Latin field.

The changes, which take effect with the 2007 awards, shrink the tropical music categories and expands the regional Mexican group for a total of seven Latin categories, up from six.

The salsa/merengue and traditional tropical categories will merge into one category, Latin Tropical. The regional Mexican categories, previously covering only Tejano and Mexican American (which will include grupero and ranchera), will expand to four, adding banda and norteño. Also, the best Latin rock/alternative album category has been expanded to incorporate urban into its scope. The Latin pop category remains the same.

Those who know the U.S. Latin music market will recognize the need to expand regional Mexican. Commanding more than 50% of all Latin music sales, according to the RIAA and Nielsen SoundScan, having only two categories in the Grammys was frustrating, to say the least.

The puzzle is how Tejano managed to remain a category. Last year, continuing a downward trend, only 11 entries were submitted to voters, with many of those ill-equipped, quality and production-wise, to compete.

The other weak categories were salsa/merengue and traditional tropical. The latter suffers for lack of releases, the former because the independent labels that underpin this genre do not submit their product to the Grammys.

Big mistake. Although Latin music is not a Grammy priority, a membership push could make the difference.

If the Grammys are serious about representing the Latin market, they would also do well to explore a stand-alone urban category, and this is a crucial year to test the mettle and staying power of that music.

As for Tejano, as it stands, it only downgrades the Latin field in general. And, if Tejano artists and labels continue to not submit product, clearly they are not interested in the category either.



ROC LA FAMILIA GIVES BIRTH: It took nearly a year after its launch for Def Jam Latin label Roc La Familia to release its first album.

But a well-crafted strategy among Def Jam, Roc La Familia and Machete Music got "Hector Bambino 'El Father' Present: Los Rompe Discotekas" featuring various artists to peek at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart (it is No. 3 this issue).

Roc La Familia is headed by president Juan Perez, a childhood friend of Jay-Z's (who guests on Bambino's album). The notion behind the label was to tap into a largely unexplored urban Latin market that drew from Latin and mainstream cultures.

"Los Rompe Discotekas," for example, is in Spanish, but the single, "Here We Go Yo," has played on Latin and urban stations. Hector Bambino "El Father" is signed to Machete, but put out the album as a joint venture among Machete, Roc La Familia and his own label, Goldstar Music. "We're bringing him to another demographic that might not necessarily take him as their own," says Yves Pierre, product manager for Def Jam.

Up next for Roc La Familia is a bilingual, all-reggaetón album by N.O.R.E. due Sept. 12, including appearances by Fat Joe, Daddy Yankee, Frankie Negrón, Ivy Queen and P. Diddy, followed by albums from Azteca Escobar and Tru Lies this fall.