KOLM’S MID-PANDEMIC LABEL LAUNCH

As the pandemic sidelined his superstar management clients Maluma, Carlos Vives and Wisin from arena touring — their biggest source of revenue — WK Entertainment founder/CEO Walter Kolm took an educated gamble and started his own label, WK Records.

“We were on track to launch a label to develop new talent, and also, our artists wanted to develop their own artists, parallel to their own careers,” says Kolm. “Once the pandemic hit, we simply shifted our focus to the label.”

In July, WK Records celebrated its first anniversary, having notched two No. 1 hits on Latin Airplay with “Fiel,” from Wisin, Los Legendarios and

Jhay Cortez, and “Mi Niña,” with Wisin, Los Legendarios and Myke Towers in association with Wisin’s label, La Base. That success, says Kolm, made it a “no-brainer” to launch his regional Mexican music label, WKMX, in July (with offices in Monterey, Mexico) and bring in former Universal Music

Latin marketing executive Horacio Rodríguez as WK Records’ new CEO and WK Entertainment’s new head of music.

Today, WK is perhaps Latin music’s most successful management company, with a roster that also counts Emilia, CNCO and Prince Royce among its names and a one-stop shop that includes booking, promotion, branding and production divisions.

Kolm also oversaw the ascent of Maluma’s “Hawái” to the top of the Global Excl. U.S. chart and the track’s subsequent remix with The Weeknd, in addition to negotiating lucrative deals for Maluma with brands like Hennessy, Michelob (including a Super Bowl commercial) and Quay.

“Our job as a company is to strengthen and grow the artist’s brand so it doesn’t depend on the current hit, and our success as a company doesn’t depend on a current hit,” he says.

Now Kolm is looking forward to his artists returning to the road. Maluma kicked off an arena tour in September, and others are following in the next six months. “Thankfully, we begin to see a sense of normalcy in the very near future,” he says. —L.C.