South Korean investment and management firm Beyond Music has acquired the music catalog of Puerto Rican reggaetón star Yandel, including his publishing interests and royalties, his share of performance royalties and neighboring rights royalties.
The acquisition is a “first of its kind” for an Asian music company that’s acquiring a Latin artist’s catalog directly, according to a press release, which states that Beyond is “seeking to diversify its portfolio and [this] deal sets the company’s first footstep into the rapidly growing Latin market.” The deal follows HYBE’s acquisition of Exile Music, the music division of Spanish-language studio Exile Content, in November.
“We are deeply humbled by Yandel’s extraordinary artistry and unparalleled career and honored to partner with him as he progresses to the next height of his career,” Beyond Music CEO Jangwon Lee said in a statement. “As a leading custodian of some of the most iconic non-Anglo musical works, we seek to support a truly burgeoning creativity across Latin and Asian musical ecosystems. We see similar traits of magnificent growth in both Latin Pop and Asian Pop (K-Pop included), and hope to share and connect the best from both worlds.”
Since its inception in 2021, Beyond Music has invested mostly in Asian catalogs and now has more than 37,000 Asian and international music rights. In December 2022, the company made its first North American acquisition when it purchased the catalog of Canadian producer-songwriter Greg Wells, who has produced and written songs with the likes of Adele, Taylor Swift, John Legend and Dua Lipa.
Acquiring Yandel’s catalog is a power move. A bonafide hitmaker, the singer-songwriter got his start in the late 1990s as one-half of the duo Wisin & Yandel, which released countless hits including “Abusadora” and “Rakata.” Yandel launched a full-fledged solo career in 2013 and has since released a total of eight solo albums, including 2013’s De Líder a Leyenda, which peaked at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Latin Albums chart.
Last year, Yandel scored his first solo Billboard Hot 100 entry with “Yandel 150” in collaboration with Feid. The pair released a joint EP titled Manifesting 20-05 on Thursday (April 11).