Universal Music Group (UMG) and Warner Chappell Music (WCM) have teamed up to launch Sonido Distrito Sur (SDS), Billboard can exclusively announce.
SDS, which brings together UMG’s record label infrastructure and WCM’s publishing infrastructure, is designed to help amplify the Ecuadorian music scene by connecting the country’s artists with the global music industry. The company will integrate investment, production, distribution, marketing, promotion, A&R, international collaborations and new growth opportunities for Ecuadorian artists. A press release notes that the company will also strike “a future international partnership to develop its booking operations” on the touring front.
The new venture will be led by Juan Fernando Velasco, an Ecuadorian singer-songwriter, and music executive Ricardo Ordóñez.
“At the heart of SDS is Artist Elevation, a proprietary model that seeks to comprehensively strengthen each artist’s career through the development of their repertoire, image, positioning, collaborations, platform presence, and the artistic, technical, visual, and commercial evolution of their live performances,” the release reads.
“Ecuador has never lacked talent,” Velasco said in a statement. “What has been missing is a structure capable of connecting that talent with opportunities in the international music industry. Sonido Distrito Sur was created to build that bridge and help our artists gain the recognition they truly deserve.”
SDS officially launched at an intimate gathering during Sayce Music Week, which took place earlier this month in Ecuador.
With Velasco and Ordóñez’s leadership, Sonido Distrito Sur hopes to become a major player in the Andean region and to launch Ecuadorian artists into new markets such as Peru, Colombia and Central America.
