Ribald shock jocks a challenge for Latino artists

By Leila Cobo

MIAMI (Billboard) - Among the promotional tasks that Latino artists undertake to get their music played on the radio is making the rounds of the Spanish-language morning show circuit, were racy hosts like to push the envelope with their guests.

At that point, publicists and promoters have to decide if submitting their acts to live, uncensored grilling is worth it.

Enrique Santos, co-host of Univision's popular "El Show de Enrique y Joe," recently recalled how a member of the Latin pop group RBD gave them the finger after a testy, on-air interview.

"They would never do that if we were a TV show and they were on-camera," Santos said.

If artists don't like the heat, Santos asked, why are they visiting a show like his in the first place?

Because, promoters and publicists say, such shows' ratings are too high for their artists to bypass, and therein lies the problem.

"Not going to the morning shows -- particularly in a city like New York, where their ratings are so high -- is almost like not having promoted there," independent publicist Mayna Nevarez says.

Nevarez deals with the possibility of conflict by preparing her acts -- which include Daddy Yankee, DLG and Alexis & Fido -- for each host.

"As a publicist, I have to feel certain that my artist is ready for any question, whatever it may be. If they're not, I prefer not to take them."

The trick, one radio promoter says, is having a good relationship with radio hosts. "I can say to them, 'Man, if you're out of line, I'll leave with my artist,"' he says. "But I'm the one who intercedes and I'm the one who gets blamed, not the artist."

But absent these kinds of relationships, promoters desperate for airplay have to be prepared to face the consequences, many say.

"You do the impossible for that song to play, and it's not the same to send a press kit," says one publicist who also has worked in promotion.

Issues arise mostly for reggaeton and tropical acts, given that those formats are the ones who tend to air the racier morning shows. Taking pop acts to such programs, the promoter says, is often a risk. "Pop acts who have issues, I prefer not to take them to those shows," she says.

As for telling hosts to refrain from asking certain personal questions -- that's the kiss of death. "It's a way of having them precisely ask that," she says.

Nevarez pre-empts this situation by specifically preparing her acts for certain questions. After all, issues arise when guests get testy, not when they're accommodating.

And while artists would often prefer to just talk about music, as public figures they simply have to be prepared to answer personal questions.

"The artists come to the show and they pretend to talk about those things nobody gives a crap about," says Luis Jimenez of Univision's "The Luis Jimenez Show." "We want to know how you like to spend your vacation, or what's the craziest thing a fan has ever done to you. Things like that."

Reuters/Billboard