For decades, Latin America sat on the margins of the global touring business. Today, it is one of its growth engines.<\/p>\n
Phil Rodriguez hasn\u2019t just witnessed that transformation. He\u2019s helped drive it. The Move Concerts CEO began his career in 1977, promoting the Jackson 5 in Caracas, Venezuela. Nearly five decades later, his r\u00e9sum\u00e9 includes everyone from The Rolling Stones and U2 to Ed Sheeran, Shakira, Iron Maiden and Bruno Mars.<\/p>\n
The shift is reflected in Move\u2019s current scale: the independent concert promoter has more than 30<\/strong> stadium shows on the books across the region in 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cOur business is mountains and valleys, and this year we have some solid content across the board,\u201d says the straight-talking Rodriguez. \u201cWe kicked off the year with a stadium run with My Chemical Romance<\/strong>, we\u2019ve got two runs with Ed Sheeran<\/strong>, we\u2019ve got Iron<\/strong> Maiden<\/strong>, we\u2019ve got Slayer<\/strong>, plus Karol G.<\/strong>.. Call me at the end of the year, but on paper it all looks great.\u201d<\/p>\n MBW catches up with Rodriguez following the first leg of Sheeran\u2019s Loop stretch through Latin America \u2014 a run into \u201cextremely rare\u201d territory, including the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Quito, which he later admits was, in places, \u201ccrazy\u201d \u2014 with a second leg through the southern cone still to come.<\/p>\n \u201cWe broke up the tour into two parts,\u201d explains Rodriguez. \u201cEd really wanted to go deep on this tour, so we did markets that we usually do not do: Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru \u2014 the northern rim. Then in November we\u2019re going to do the Southern Cone: Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. From a routing, freight and flight perspective, it made sense.\u201d<\/p>\n Move is headquartered in Miami, Florida, with offices across Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, and Puerto Rico. The latter branch co-promoted Bad Bunny\u2019s landmark 30-night residency in the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan in 2025, alongside Rimas Entertainment.<\/p>\n \u201cBad Bunny,<\/strong> obviously, is a phenomenon \u2014 and a phenomenon that\u2019s taken over ten years to build,\u201d says Rodriguez. \u201cNoah Assad, his manager, and Benito [the rapper\u2019s real name] have been brilliant in the way they\u2019ve piloted his career, developed it slowly, and created a base with their fans and a whole brand. Hats off \u2014 not only was the talent there, but there was a brilliant team behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n In recent years, Move has pushed beyond pure promotion. Its management and concert divisions operate independently of one another while sharing certain synergies. The management arm grew out of a single artist signing and now sits alongside a record label, while the core touring business has leaned harder into stadiums, new arena openings and a fast-growing pipeline of Latin artists.<\/p>\n Here, Rodriguez gives his take on the lasting impact of Bad Bunny\u2019s Puerto Rico residency, the infrastructure gap still holding back parts of South America, and why he isn\u2019t losing sleep over Live Nation\u2019s expansion into his backyard\u2026<\/p>\n Not so much it was a game changer \u2014 the whole execution of the album was brilliant: the marketing, the whole concept from beginning to end of the way the album was brought out, the whole concept of the residency, which was: \u201cI\u2019m not going to tour, come to my house and see me.\u201d It had so much to do with the record and the vibe of the record, which was very much about pride in Puerto Rican music and culture, so it was so finely woven and so brilliant in the execution.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a game changer, but we\u2019re now seeing a lot of this residency\/semi-residency concept.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I wasn\u2019t in England for Oasis, and I know for many people that was an emotional moment \u2014 but I\u2019ve never seen an event really touch the soul of a people, of a community, of an island, like this did. Everybody was affected, not only economically but just in terms of pride, on an island that\u2019s been through a lot.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a game changer, but we\u2019re now seeing a lot of this residency\/semi-residency concept. Harry Styles, for instance, is doing multiples in seven cities in different locations instead of a world tour. Everybody puts in their spice \u2014 everybody cooks their own gumbo.<\/p>\n Essentially, I think it\u2019s three factors. Number one, music and videos being streamed versus CDs in the 1990s \u2014 all new music is worldwide, in real time now. Streaming has been fundamental in the explosion of not only Latin music but in the overall trend of music becoming globalized; music lovers all over the world can access different genres in real time, at low or zero cost.<\/p>\n Number two, the growth of Latin immigration all over the world, from the USA to Europe to Australia, etc. That created a ticket-buying base for Latin artists to tour markets that weren\u2019t viable in the 1990s.<\/p>\n And number three, the new explosion was driven primarily by urban music \u2014 reggaeton, etc. That genre translated more easily to the general market, as it went hand in hand with hip-hop, took off in clubs and discos, and grew from there.<\/p>\n Well, we compete in the sense that we\u2019re in the same game. But at the same time, I think we each have our own little recipe, we all have our strengths and weaknesses, and we bring that to the table. I\u2019ve always said we\u2019re a boutique operation \u2014 we put TLC into all our shows.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll give you an example: we\u2019re a recognized player where we work, we\u2019ll do maybe 120 shows in the region \u2014 so it\u2019s not 1,000 shows a year. That gives us more time. I\u2019m not going to say the other guys are cookie-cutter, because that\u2019s not what I imply, but it\u2019s different if you have x amount of shows to address versus x5 or x10.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve always said there\u2019s enough fish out there for everybody to eat. Listen, I\u2019ve lost artists that I had a history with to Live Nation, but we gained others. I think you have to be creative, think outside the box, be aware of what might be going on \u2014 maybe you strike first. But I firmly believe there\u2019s enough food for everybody, and not everybody likes one model. There\u2019s things Live Nation is doing in our region which I think are great, and will help raise the tide for everybody, and vice-versa. I don\u2019t see it as some dark force encroaching upon us.<\/p>\n YOU\u2019VE BEEN WORKING WITH ED SHEERAN FOR CLOSE TO TWO DECADES. WHAT DOES A PARTNERSHIP LIKE THAT LOOK LIKE AT THIS STAGE?<\/h6>\n Ed\u2019s got a great team, he\u2019s got a great vibe \u2014 what you see is what you get. We\u2019ve worked together now for 17, 18 years, so it\u2019s almost like a high school reunion every time we get together.<\/p>\n Same thing with Iron Maiden \u2014 with artists you work with over the years, when you see each other four or five years later you go, \u201cHow are you doing? How\u2019s the family?\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s always a pleasure, no stress. With Ed, it was a good run, and we did some crazy stuff \u2014 Quito was crazy, Dominican Republic was crazy.<\/p>\n God, some of these markets \u2014 Costa Rica, for instance \u2014 I\u2019ve been working for decades, literally, and it\u2019s always been kind of a cool stop. Costa Rica\u2019s got a great vibe, it\u2019s got surfing, the rainforest. I\u2019m not going to say it\u2019s artist-friendly in that sense, but it\u2019s a market that most artists enjoy stopping off in, and it routes on the way to Mexico, on the way back from Mexico, or if you\u2019re going to Colombia \u2014 so Costa Rica was always there. It\u2019s just getting busier as our business gets busier.<\/p>\n The new thing is going to be Guatemala, with the Gallo Arena they\u2019re going to open up. I believe they\u2019re shooting for the end of next year. I think that\u2019s going to make a massive difference and bring Guatemala forward as a touring spot. I\u2019ve always said that, when there\u2019s a new venue, business normally grows around 30%, simply because you not only have the content, but you have people wanting to check out the new venue. The short answer is every company in this business is looking to grow internationally.<\/p>\n My view is that our business is becoming more globalized in every sense. It is an international music \u201cgumbo\u201d that includes different Latin genres, K-Pop, J-Pop, Afrobeats, etc. I\u2019m fascinated with what\u2019s going on in India, and how that\u2019s going to grow.<\/p>\n \u201cMy view is that our business is becoming more globalized in every sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Someone just sent me a projection of the world population by year 2050 \u2014 Africa and India are going to dominate by leaps and bounds, and I think that\u2019s going to impact touring, music genres, everything. That\u2019s the way of the world. The USA\/UK center of gravity is shifting.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an embarrassment that the biggest city in South America \u2014 S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil \u2014 doesn\u2019t have an arena. When your biggest indoor facility tops out at 8,000, you go to a stadium for anything above that unless you want to do multiples.<\/p>\n Would there be as many stadium shows if Lima and S\u00e3o Paulo had arenas that could hold 18,000\u201319,000? I don\u2019t think so. I\u2019m not going to say it would kill the stadium business, not at all, but that\u2019s one of the reasons that we\u2019ve leaned more on stadiums from my perspective. And some of these shows are scaled down, with the upper bowl closed, because of the lack of a big arena.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an embarrassment that the biggest city in South America \u2014 S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil \u2014 doesn\u2019t have an arena.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n When arenas start coming up over the next few years, that\u2019s going to open up a different dimension. Now Buenos Aires has an arena, with projects for some other ones. Chile has an arena, there\u2019s a project for one in Lima, you now have two arenas in Bogot\u00e1, you\u2019ve got the arena in Guatemala \u2014 so slowly but surely you\u2019re going to start getting more arenas everywhere.<\/p>\n Obviously the tendency of the press is to get a hook and run with it, and I get it. But listen, throughout the years, there have been shows that sold and shows that didn\u2019t sell. Nowadays they\u2019re just more visible because of the blue dots, but nobody can tell me that three or four years ago there weren\u2019t tours that were stiffing \u2014 of course there were.<\/p>\n Sometimes people think the potential is there, and it turns out it isn\u2019t. It is what it is. If everybody had a 100% batting average, everybody would be a promoter. So even with all the data and analytics, it\u2019s not a perfect science.<\/p>\n The big challenge \u2014 which continues \u2014 is the cost of touring. It impacts every touring artist, but those in the mid to lower range are hurt the most, for obvious reasons.<\/p>\n Absolutely. I\u2019m bullish about our business. Music and sports are the last tribal experience, and it\u2019s the one moment where you can forget everything and all your problems, disconnect and enjoy yourself, share with friends, and it\u2019s not a crazy expense.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m bullish about our business.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Hell, man, I\u2019m seeing it now here in America with how much tickets are for the World Cup. And the tickets to see the Knicks play in New York are crazy.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll be totally honest with you, I had fuck all to do with it. That was something our office in Argentina did during Covid \u2014 everybody was trying to figure out during Covid, \u201cWhat do we do? Where do we go?\u201d Records and recording was something everybody did during Covid \u2014 you could be in a studio at home, recording and putting music out.<\/p>\n So that really started with one artist, and now we have, I believe, six artists on the label, and it\u2019s driven by Argentina. I step in and help out whenever I can, whether it\u2019s through a contact, securing a record deal, distribution, whatever.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t only because of Covid \u2014 it was about trying to find new ventures and revenue to keep the team working, but there\u2019s also the obvious synergy with Move Concerts: some of these artists, we promoted in Argentina, we promoted in Peru, etc. So one vertical would help feed the other. It\u2019s been a wonderful challenge.<\/p>\n It was something that I pushed for from day one. Because I believe with any artist you can speak with, if you have the option of having ownership \u2014 whether it\u2019s now or eventual ownership of those masters \u2014 you want to do that. To me, that\u2019s a no-brainer. Same thing with publishing.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a licensing deal with the distributor, and with publishing it becomes an administrative deal. So it\u2019s pretty much almost the same \u2014 at least that\u2019s been our experience. We\u2019ve gotten some really solid record deals, I have a great relationship with Warner<\/a> Latin, they\u2019ve been a great team to work with. And listen, at the end of the day, if you have a hit, everybody\u2019s going to be happy. So that\u2019s the objective. It\u2019s the old saying, right? Success has many fathers, and failure is like a nobody.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t think of one thing in global terms, but I would definitely get rid of the ludicrous Student Discount law in Brazil. It helps no one and only distorts ticket scaling. The law stipulates that 40% of ticket inventory has to have a 50% student discount. This distorts the pricing, as we are forced to increase the non-student ticket prices to compensate for the discount \u2014 so the end result is artificially higher prices for the non-student tickets.<\/p>\n We\u2019re going to continue doing what we\u2019ve always done. We\u2019re obviously always looking at new areas. At the same time, because of what\u2019s happening in the overall scene in our business, we\u2019re doing a lot more Latin content and I think there\u2019s a lot we can offer these artists going forward. But the nationality or genre doesn\u2019t matter, our business is to sell tickets \u2014 it\u2019s to put asses in seats.<\/p>\nYOU\u2019VE DESCRIBED BAD BUNNY\u2019S PUERTO RICO RESIDENCY AS A GAME-CHANGER. WHAT DID IT ACTUALLY CHANGE?<\/h6>\n
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IN WHAT WAYS DOES THIS LATIN EXPLOSION FEEL BIGGER THAN THE SHAKIRA AND RICKY MARTIN WAVE OF DECADES EARLIER?<\/h6>\n
WITH LIVE NATION EXPANDING AGGRESSIVELY INTO LATIN AMERICA, HOW DOES AN INDEPENDENT \u2014 EVEN A LARGE ONE LIKE MOVE \u2014 COMPETE WITH THAT?<\/h6>\n
SO IT STILL FEELS LIKE THERE\u2019S ENOUGH ROOM AT THE TABLE FOR EVERYONE?<\/h6>\n
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WHAT\u2019S HAPPENED IN THE LAST TEN YEARS TO MAKE MARKETS LIKE THAT VIABLE FOR A-LIST ARTISTS?<\/h6>\n
IS LATIN AMERICA\u2019S GROWTH SHIFTING THE GLOBAL INDUSTRY\u2019S CENTER OF GRAVITY?<\/h6>\n
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ON THE STADIUM BOOM \u2014 DOES LATAM HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO CAPTURE THAT, OR IS IT STILL LEAVING MONEY ON THE TABLE?<\/h6>\n
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THERE\u2019S BEEN TALK OF \u201cBLUE DOT FEVER\u201d \u2014 TOURS NOT SELLING. IS THAT JUST A SNAPPY PHRASE, OR IS THERE SUBSTANCE TO IT?<\/h6>\n
BUT IS IT FAIR TO SAY IT IS A SOFTER SCENARIO FOR MID-LEVEL ARTISTS?<\/h6>\n
YOU\u2019VE CALLED LIVE MUSIC AN \u201cACCESS<\/a>IBLE LUXURY\u201d THAT PEOPLE WILL PAY FOR EVEN WHEN THEY\u2019RE CUTTING BACK ELSEWHERE. DOES THAT STILL HOLD UP?<\/h6>\n
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MOVE HAS EXPANDED INTO ARTIST MANAGEMENT AND A RECORD LABEL. WHAT WAS THE IMPETUS FOR THAT?<\/h6>\n
YOU HAVE KEPT MASTERS IN-HOUSE. WHY WAS THAT IMPORTANT TO YOU?<\/h6>\n
HOW DO YOU MAKE THE NUMBERS WORK IN THAT REGARD?<\/h6>\n
IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT THE GLOBAL MUSIC INDUSTRY, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?<\/h6>\n
WHERE DOES MOVE GO FROM HERE? WHAT\u2019S THE PLAN FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS?<\/h6>\n
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