Latin Ballads Loosing Radio Air Play

Is that because we are getting less romantic? Maybe ballads are getting less radio exposure because we want our romantic songs a at a bit faster rhythm.

The excellent article Leila Cobos wrote for Billboard (link to it HERE) brings up the fact that ballads are falling in popularity. Cobos argues that the issue is radio airplay is down for downtempo ballads, and the younger listeners tune out the moment they hear a downtempo song. And Cobos argues this is particularly the case for ballads in Spanish, as they still get fair airplay in English!

Leila’s article is a good one, and I recommend you read it. But there is another point.

Latin artists, who gained fame as crooners, are going more and more for urban and Bachata mixes of songs. But even before that, they were already speeding up the tempo of their songs by trending towards pop-Rock.

Enrique Iglesias, Chayanne, Ednita Nazario, and many other Latin crooners have been moving towards mid to up-tempo rhythm mix with urban, and pop-Rock, or include a Bachata in their albums.

Love is still in the air, it’s just that instead of a light breeze, the younger Latinos want it in stronger drafts approaching a tropical storm status.

Leila Cobos mentions a few artists sticking to ballads, among them Kany Garcia and Ricardo Arjona. In Kany’s case, she mentions her last album did well without getting much airplay when launched.

Latin music fans continue to support ballads through streaming and downloads services. I hope radio stations and record labels consider this music fan listening trends when making play time and recording decisions.