Universal Music Group\u2019s frontline label Island Records and its global artist services division, Virgin Music Group, have formed a partnership with Car\u00edn Le\u00f3n\u2019s label Socios Music to release new music.<\/p>\n
The partnership\u2019s first release, Le\u00f3n\u2019s album Boca Chueca Vol. 1<\/em>, dropped on May 30 and gave Le\u00f3n his strongest first-week debut to date, landing at No. 5 on Billboard\u2019s Regional Mexican Albums chart, and No. 8 on its Top Latin Albums chart.<\/p>\n The album has 19 tracks and \u201cshowcases Car\u00edn experimenting with a variety of genres, incorporating rock, country and pop,\u201d Virgin and Island said in a statement on Monday (June 24). It features collaborations with Kane Brown<\/strong>, Leon Bridges<\/strong>, Pepe Aguilar<\/strong>, Bolela<\/strong>, and Pante\u00f3n Rococ\u00f3<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The genre-defying Le\u00f3n has a string of hits under his belt, including the Latin Grammy-winning Como Lo Hice Yo<\/em>, as well as Ni Me Debes Ni Te Debo<\/em>, Te Lo Agradezco<\/em>, No Es Por Ac\u00e1<\/em>, and others that have collectively racked up more than 2 billion<\/strong> streams on Spotify<\/strong><\/a>. Le\u00f3n has more than 29 million<\/strong> monthly listeners on the streaming service.<\/p>\n Le\u00f3n has achieved a number of milestones, including being the first Latin artist to perform at both Coachella<\/strong> and Stagecoach<\/strong> in the same year. He recently opened for the Rolling Stones<\/strong> and made his debut performance at Nashville\u2019s Grand Ole Opry.<\/p>\n The artist from Sonora, Mexico, has also established himself as a songwriter, signing an exclusive publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group<\/strong> last October.<\/p>\n \u201cCar\u00edn Le\u00f3n has established himself as one of the most exciting and creative artists in the world today,\u201d Virgin Music Group Co-CEOs JT Myers<\/strong> and Nat Pastor<\/strong> said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has also assembled around him a world-class team and together we are already building upon the amazing work they\u2019ve done throughout Car\u00edn\u2019s incredible career.\u201d<\/p>\n Justin Eshak<\/strong> and Imran Majid<\/strong>, Co-CEOs of Island Records, added that \u201cCar\u00edn Le\u00f3n is a true outlier. He transcends not only stylistic and sonic boundaries, but also cultural boundaries. We\u2019re thrilled to work with Car\u00edn and manager Jorge Juarez<\/strong> via this new partnership with Virgin Music Group and Socios Music. There\u2019s no limit to what we can accomplish together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCar\u00edn Le\u00f3n has established himself as one of the most exciting and creative artists in the world today.”<\/p>\n JT Myers and Nat Pastor, Virgin Music Group<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cWe are proud to have assembled an incredibly collaborative team at both Virgin Music Group and Island Records to work alongside us to take Car\u00edn\u2019s career to even greater heights,\u201d said Jorge Juarez, Leon\u2019s manager and business partner at Socios Music. \u201cWe are already seeing huge benefits from this new partnership and are excited for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Le\u00f3n is launching a tour in support of the new album on July 22 in Paso Robles, California, with stops in Chicago, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Nashville, Houston and Toronto, and a landmark performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City.<\/p>\n For Virgin Music Group, this is just the latest in a series of new agreements the artist and label services company has signed recently, including a distribution partnership<\/a> with indie label, publisher and management firm Position Music<\/strong>; a distribution deal<\/a> with Neon Gold Records<\/strong>, announced earlier this month; and a partnership with Jay Sean<\/strong>\u2019s recently-founded label 3AM Entertainment<\/strong><\/a>, which will focus on developing South Asian artists.<\/p>\n These deals come after last fall\u2019s decision to integrate Ingrooves<\/strong>\u2019 global platform and marketing technology into Virgin Music, which Virgin said would enable it to \u201coffer independent artists and labels a full suite of global services, providing expertise that is unparalleled in the music industry\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are already seeing huge benefits from this new partnership and are excited for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n