Ghazi on Empire’s Global Expansion & Latin Music Growth | On the Record

EMPIRE has grown from a hip-hop label into a company signing artists across Latin America, Southeast Asia and North Africa, as US audiences increasingly listen to music from around the world. Founder and chief executive Ghazi says the company moved into reggaeton early because he believed subscription streaming would eventually make the genre more commercially viable.

In a Billboard interview at Latin Music Week, Ghazi said EMPIRE began signing reggaeton artists in 2011, when piracy made the market appear difficult to monetise. As some artists began attracting large streaming audiences, major labels Sony and Universal pursued them, he said. The discussion also covers the effects of US visa and immigration issues on Latin artists’ touring schedules.