DADDY YANKEE SETS UP SHOP AT UMG

Reggaeton icon Daddy Yankee is setting up his music and film operations with Universal Music Group in a new strategic global partnership.

His first release is “Don Don” featuring Anuel AA and Kendo Kaponi, which will drop Friday. Daddy Yankee’s new music projects will be distributed and supported by UMG’s Ingrooves Music Group.

Under the deal, he has the ability to develop new film and television projects with Polygram Entertainment.

“Daddy Yankee is both an iconic artist and entrepreneur whose extraordinary creativity influences culture on a global scale,” Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman & CEO of Universal Music Group, said. “We’re ooking forward to working together to maximize the worldwide impact of his amazing talent.”

The Puerto Rican rapper has released seven studio albums that have sold more than 17m copies. His music was streamed more than 7b times in the last 12 months alone on YouTube, where he is among the Top 20 Global Artists.

“I’ve worked hard to build a career that transcends cultures, borders and languages, and I created new business models that helped bring our music to the world,” Daddy Yankee said. “By making one of the biggest commitments to an artist in the history of Latin music, Universal Music and Sir Lucian are partners who value my legacy, my music and my contributions. This new single is just the beginning of the new projects we have planned and I’m excited to get started.”