Pop Art Makes Splash In Argentina

In only three years, concert promoter Roberto Costa's Pop Art agency has evolved from a promising new name to a major force in the Argentine entertainment business. His company now includes artistic management, a concert-promotion division, and two indie record labels.

Costa—the former president of the international division of Daniel Grinbank's leader-of-the-pack Rock & Pop entertainment company—decided to go solo in late-1997. He debuted with Pop Art in January 1998, when he booked Backstreet Boys for their widely acclaimed first performance in Buenos Aires.

His small outfit grew in the years following, with successful shows by more teen-pop acts (Aaron Carter, Five, Howie B), plus a series of local and international rock concerts in arenas and soccer stadiums by such acts as the Cult, Morrissey, La Renga, and Ratones Paranoicos.

Last year, with the backing of powerful telephone company Telecom, Pop Art organized a series of 100 free concerts nationwide, featuring rock, pop, jazz, tango, and folklore artists. The highlights were three season-linked festivals in Buenos Aires—aptly named Pop Autumn, Rock Winter, and Alternative Spring—that drew 25,000 fans of local and international cult bands.

Last January, these concerts evolved into the landmark first edition of Hot Festival, which drew 65,000 people to three days of concerts featuring R.E.M., Beck, Oasis, and Neil Young, among others. A second edition is slated for March 2002, once again coordinated by Miami-based Water Brothers' Phil Rodríguez (who coordinated Rock in Rio).

"The first challenge was to find a venue for our idea of organizing a rock festival near the Rock in Rio dates," Costa says. When a deal with the 45,000-seat Velez stadium fell through, he says, "we soon discovered the untapped potential of the downtown polo fields [in Buenos Aires], with a beautiful green turf and the capacity of five soccer fields."

The result was a success, garnering rave reviews through the perfect coordination of three stages and themed tents. Gross revenue reached $1.5 million, including $600,000 from sponsors Telecom, Sky, Volkswagen, Levi's, Coca Cola, Marlboro, Adidas, record-store chain Musimundo, and advertising agency Agulla & Bacetti.

In addition to the concert division, Pop Art has done well with Tocka Discos, a small record company that is distributed by Universal Music Argentina. It has managed to strike gold with two live albums by highly popular Argentine rock bands from the late-'80s.

Classic-metal band Rata Blanca's Grandes Canciones compilation has sold 45,000 copies, and Rolling Stones-influenced group Ratones Paranoicos has a certified gold album (30,000 units) with Vivo Paranóico.

This month, Costa plans to repeat Tocka Discos' success, with the debut of Pop Art Discos. First releases were alternative rock band Babasónicos' 10th album, Jessico, and a new recording by Fito Páez's former guitar player, Gabriel Carámbula. Releases from August to September include those by DJ Diego Ro-k, funkmaster Nico Cota, folk/blues singer Celeste Carballo, Brit-pop band Turf, and alternative rocker María Gabriel Epumer.

Costa says that the impact of the deep Argentine recession and new taxes on concerts made him decide to put more emphasis on the record division: "Due to these difficult economic times, I chose to work with projects that demand smaller investments, and there is an excellent synergy between the agency and the record company. Large festivals are now better as mid- and long-term plans."