The Frost School of Music continued strengthening its connections with the Latin music world this week at the annual Billboard Latin Music Conference in Miami, the genre’s leading industry gathering. For the second consecutive year, the Frost School co-sponsored Billboard Latin Power Players, the VIP event at the start of the conference. This year, new Dean Matt Serletic finished his first day of leadership by attending the awards celebration at Miami Beach’s Faena Theater on Monday evening.
Billboard Co-Chief Content Officer Leila Cobo welcomed Serletic at the Power Players celebration and highlighted the Frost School’s partnership with Billboard and the many connections Serletic, a multi-GRAMMY-winning producer, songwriter, executive and Frost School alumnus, has across the music industry. Senior Associate Dean and Music Industry program director Serona Elton, Music Industry program Assistant Director and associate professor Guillermo Page, and Frost School Director of Marketing and Communications Stephanie Hernandez joined him.
The Frost School is building on a decades-long history of alumni who have played a significant role in the Latin music world, largely thanks to Miami’s position as a center of the industry. Two of those alumni, Jorge Mejia, president and CEO of Sony Music Publishing Latin America and U.S. Latin, and renowned producer Emilio Estefan, husband of legendary star Gloria Estefan, were again honored as Power Players this year.
The Billboard Latin Music Conference ran from Monday, October 19 to Thursday, October 22, with panels, speakers, networking events, and artist showcases at the Faena Theater and Faena Forum, part of the Faena Hotel Miami Beach. It wound up with the Billboard Latin Music Awards Thursday evening at Miami’s James L. Knight Center, featuring performances by some of the genre’s top artists.
One of the themes of the conference was Latin music’s evolution from music primarily for U.S. Hispanics and Latin America into a genre that’s popular worldwide. Latin music has marked cultural milestones and topped global charts this year. Bad Bunny followed his historic Super Bowl performance with one of the most successful tours of 2026, becoming the first Latin artist to earn over $1 billion in total touring revenue. Karol G’s “BbY WoW” had 2026’s longest continuous run atop Global Spotify, and Shakira’s “Dai Dai,” which she performed on the FIFA World Cup Final halftime show, was number one on the Billboard Global 200 for seven weeks. (The Colombian superstar’s longtime drummer Brendan Buckley is also a Frost School alum.)
Meanwhile, the Recording Industry Association of America’s annual mid-year report, released on September 28, showed continued growth, with Latin music reaching 9.1% of the U.S. market. The genre’s revenue grew for the 13th year in a row, with 8.6% growth this year outpacing the general market, while vinyl sales more than tripled and sync (licensing music to media) more than doubled.
“The door is open for Latin artists,” said Sony Music U.S. Latin president Alex Gallardo at a Billboard panel with Tommy Mottola, former chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, on Latin music’s global rise. The two executives said storytelling, authenticity, and originality were essential to standing out in a crowded market, noting that Mexican and tropical music, Afrobeat, and even folkloric-influenced music have joined reggaeton on the world’s playlists.
“The challenge is more… is the artist’s artistic proposition something truly original, unique, that is worth paying attention to?” said Gallardo.
With its ethos of nurturing musical innovation in new generations of artists, producers, and executives, and its Miami location, the Frost School is uniquely positioned to capitalize on Latin music’s growth.
