Dec. 3 - Twelve-platinum albums, four gold records and two silver ones in Italy and in Europe, numerous hits and a stable presence in the official sales charts around the world: these are Planet Records’ winning numbers. The Italian label is one of three strongest music labels in the field of tropical music in the United States and the number one worldwide. Created in 1998 by producer Roberto Ferrante, in just a few years it has become a reference point among Italian and European independent labels – reaching one million views on YouTube. "Our success - says Ferrante - is the result of the extensive experience gained over the years as an independent label. The recent record crisis forced us to make a choice: aim for greater expansion or opt for a downsizing. I chose to deal with the crisis by buckling down and leveraging our previous successes to enter the American market, precisely because of my passion for Latin music, without losing sight of the broader objectives." Since 2004, Planet Records is also active in the paper publishing industry, with the bimonthly magazine "Latino!", which relies on a group label and international locations and operators in Miami, New York, Naples, Milan, Paris, The Havana and Santo Domingo. "Basically - commented Ferrante - we can distinguish two different types of market: the American and South American one is different from the European, and more generally international, one. While the European market Latin music is appreciated regardless of the artist’s background; in America, there are great cultural walls that are strongly linked to the individual communities who listen to such music, thus giving rise to a decidedly mother tongue market." Turning to his personal life choices, Ferrante explained: "the career of an artistic and musical producer today allows young people to have a lot of space. It is essential, however, to rely on oneself, establishing a name within the indie community, rather than the larger labels: the former is a goal that is possible to reach thanks to the many available channels, above all the Internet. The secret is to hold on, to remain forward-looking, and be able to seize the moment and clearly identify new musical success." (Paf)

PLANET RECORDS

In 1998, Flying Records shut down for good, and Roberto Ferrante decided to stay in Naples and create from scratch a new label for independent productions: Planet Records. The first hit came in 2003 with Noelia’s "Enamorada", followed by Aventura with their "Obsesion" and various other projects including "Gusto Latino" and "Viva El Caribe!". Planet Records, strong of its 3% chart share in Italy, decided to open a music newspaper with attached CD, called Latino! Magazine, one of the biggest selling music magazine in Italy. At the end of 2004, Planet Records released in Europe a new Dominican artist, Papi Sanchez, who, with his album "Yeah Baby" and the super hit "Enamorame" sold a total 1,000,000 copies. In 2005, Planet Records was the only independent label to have three artists present at Festivalbar. The company’s winning strategy was to turn to the American market by offering the best of Caribbean and Latin music. In fact, a few months after the opening of a US office in 2007/2008, Planet Records signed a deal with Sony BMG for American distribution of its music. Planet Records is also one of the three strongest music labels in the field of tropical music in the United States and the number one in the world: in 2013 with the compilation "Latin Hits 2013" it reached the top spot on iTunes Latin and the top of Billboard’s "Latin Rhythm". In 2014, it signed a distribution agreement for CDs with Warner Music and with Believe for digital products.