Fonovisa Records is an American Spanish language

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

founded in 1984 by Guillermo Santiso as a subsidiary of

Televisa Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...

. Its former name before being acquired by Televisa in 1984 was Profono Internacional, which was founded in 1978. Fonovisa mainly produces Mexican style music. It is well known for its signing with artists such as

Los Tigres Del Norte Los Tigres del Norte (English: ''The Tigers of the North'') are a norteño band from San Jose, California. Originally founded in Mocorito, Sinaloa, Mexico, with sales of 60 million albums, the band is one of the most recognized groups in the ...

Los Bukis Los Bukis (The Bukis, ''buki'' translates as ''Little Kid'' in the Yaqui language) are a Mexican Grupera band from Ario de Rosales, Michoacan. In 1973, the band was founded by cousins Marco Antonio Solís and Joel Solís. Their first song was ...

, Los Temerarios, Enrique Iglesias, Lucero and

Thalía Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda (; born 26 August 1971), known mononymously as Thalía, is a Mexican singer and actress. Referred to as the " Queen of Latin Pop", she is considered one of the most successful and influential Mexican artists. Havi ...

. In late 2002, Fonovisa was acquired from

by the

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...

Music Group. Fonovisa was owned by the Univision Music Group until May 2008 when it was bought by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. It is now part of

Universal Music Latin Entertainment Universal Music Latin Entertainment, a division of Universal Music Group, is a record company specialized in producing and distributing Latin music in Mexico, the United States, and Puerto Rico. UMLE includes famous Latin music labels such as Uni ...

. Fonovisa headquarters are now in the Capitol Record Building, in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

Lawsuits

On January 25, 1996, Fonovisa was allowed to proceed with its

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

lawsuit against Cherry Auction (which is known for operating the Cherry Avenue Auction in Fresno, CA) for allowing vendors to sell unlicensed records. Fonovisa itself, however, became the subject of controversy in 1999 when the record label admitted to paying radio stations millions of dollars in

payola Payola, in the music industry, is the illegal practice of paying a commercial radio station to play a song without the station disclosing the payment. Under US law, a radio station must disclose songs they were paid to play on the air as spons ...

to play songs from Fonovisa artists. Santiso was also charged with tax evasion during the process.

Artists

Alacranes Musical Alacranes Musical (English: "Musical Scorpions") are a Regional Mexican band that specialize in the Duranguense subgenre. They are from the Chicago, Illinois suburb of Aurora. Recordings The band has released several albums since its formati ...

Alicia Villarreal Martha Alicia Villarreal Esparza (born August 31, 1971), known simply and professionally as Alicia Villarreal, is a Mexican singer-songwriter. Villarreal participated in different bands in Monterrey, before becoming the lead singer for Grupo ...

Alejandro Fernández Alejandro Fernández Abarca (; born 24 April 1971) is a Mexican singer. Nicknamed as El Potrillo by the media and his fans, he has sold over 20 million records worldwide, making him one of the most successful Hispanic music artists. He is the ...

* Grupo Aroma * Avenida 6 *After Party * Alfredo Olivas *

Banda El Recodo Banda Sinaloense El Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga, often referred to simply as Banda El Recodo, is a Mexican banda formed in Mazatlán, Sinaloa in 1938; it has been under the direction of the Lizárraga family. Banda El Recodo has recorded with popu ...

* Banda Pequeños Musical *

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for rod ...

Chiquis Janney Marín Rivera (born June 26, 1985), better known as Chiquis Rivera, is an American singer and television personality. She is the eldest daughter of singer Jenni Rivera. She began her singing career in early 2014, releasing her first sing ...

Conjunto Primavera Conjunto Primavera is a Mexican Norteño-Sax band from Ojinaga, Chihuahua. In the 1990s and 2000s they were one of the most popular acts in Regional Mexican music. History Conjunto Primavera was formed on the first day of spring in 1978 by the ...

Cristina Cristina is a female given name, and it is also a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile), 11th-century English princess *Cristina (singer), Cristina Monet-Palaci (1956–2020), American s ...

* Crecer Germán * Conjunto Azabache * Cuisillos * Enrique Iglesias * El De La H * El Potro de Sinaloa * El Tigrillo Palma * Grupo Exterminador *

Grupo Bryndis Grupo Bryndis is a Mexican Grupera band from Cerritos, San Luis Potosí, - though founded in Santa Paula, California in 1983 by Mauro Posadas, the band is a Latin Grammy Award winner. The band performs in the balada tecnocumbia Tecnocumbia is ...

Graciela Beltrán Graciela Beltrán (born December 29, 1974) is an American singer. She began singing in the Los Angeles area at the age of six at restaurants and parties. According to MTV she is "widely known as one of regional Mexican music's most influenti ...

* German Montero *Hechizeros Band *

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

* Jesús Chaparro *

Juan Gabriel Alberto Aguilera Valadez (; January 7, 1950 – August 28, 2016), known professionally as Juan Gabriel (), was a Mexican singer, songwriter and actor. Colloquially nicknamed as Juanga () and El Divo de Juárez, Juan Gabriel was known for his f ...

* Juan Rivera *

Julión Álvarez Julio César Álvarez Montelongo (born April 11, 1983), better known as Julión Álvarez (), is a Mexican singer. Álvarez has been nominated for a Grammy Award and two Latin Grammy Awards. Early life and career Julión Álvarez was born an ...

* Jazmín López *

Joan Sebastian José Manuel Figueroa Figueroa (April 8, 1951 – July 13, 2015), known professionally as Joan Sebastian (), was a Mexican singer-songwriter. He composed more than 1,000 songs, including compositions for artists such as Bronco, Vicente Fernánd ...

* José Huerta *

Lorenzo Antonio Lorenzo Antonio (born Lorenzo Antonio Sánchez Pohl October 3, 1969, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States), is an American Latin music singer-songwriter, who is known and recognized in Mexico, the United States, and Latin America. He was ra ...

* Los Acosta * Los Bondadosos *

Los Temerarios Los Temerarios are a Mexican Grupera band from Fresnillo, Zacatecas started in 1978 by brothers Adolfo Angel and Gustavo Angel and their cousin Fernando Angel. During their early years, they were known as ''Conjunto La Brisa''. ''Los Temerari ...

Los Tigres del Norte Los Tigres del Norte (English: ''The Tigers of the North'') are a norteño band from San Jose, California. Originally founded in Mocorito, Sinaloa, Mexico, with sales of 60 million albums, the band is one of the most recognized groups in the ...

Los Tucanes de Tijuana Los Tucanes De Tijuana (English: ''The Toucans of Tijuana'') are a Mexican norteño band led by Mario Quintero Lara. The band was founded in Tijuana, Baja California in 1987. They, along with Los Tigres del Norte, were pioneers in playing the ...

* Los Canelos de Durango *

Larry Hernandez Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence (given name), Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment *Larry D. Alexander, American arti ...

* Marco Antonio Solis *

Patrulla 81 Patrulla 81 is a Regional Mexican band originally from the state of Durango. Group member José Ángel Medina formed the group in 1981. In 2004, the group released ''Cómo Pude Enamorarme de Ti'', a hit in both the United States and Mexico. In De ...

* Pedro Fernández *

Roberto Tapia Roberto Tapia is an American singer of Mexican ancestry. He was born in San Diego, California and raised in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico. He adopted the Regional Mexican genre and in August 2012, his album ''El Muchacho'' hit #1 on '' Billboard ...

* Saul El Jaguar * Sparx * El Trono de Mexico * Vikilo

Former artists

Ana Bárbara Altagracia Ugalde Mota (born January 10, 1971), better known as Ana Bárbara, is a Mexican singer, actress, television personality and model. She has become a prominent figure within Latin entertainment since her professional debut in 1994 and is ...

Anahí Anahí Giovanna Puente Portilla (born 14 May 1983), known mononymously as Anahí, is a Mexican actress and singer. In 1986, she started her acting career when she was cast on ''Chiquilladas''. After working on many successful telenovelas produ ...

* Cristian Castro *

Crooked Stilo Crooked Stilo is a hip-hop duo formed by brothers Victor and Johnny Lopez, known for combining hip hop with cumbia, with some reggaeton influences. Career The duo released three albums with Univision Music Group Univision Music Group is ...

* Elsa García * Enrique Iglesias *

La Mafia La Mafia is a five-time Grammy Award-winning musical group. It has its roots in the Northside neighborhood of Houston, Texas, and has charted a course as a Latin music band. History La Mafia was founded in 1980 in Houston, TX. Vocalist Osca ...

Los Palominos Los Palominos are a Tejano group from Uvalde, Texas. History Los Palominos were formed in 1986 by four brothers under the name Los Tremendos Pequeños. Their repertoire includes polka, ''rancheras'', ''boleros'', ballads, and ''cumbias''. They si ...

* Lucero * Menudo *

Noelia Noelia Lorenzo (Née Noelia Lorenzo Monge; born August 31, 1979) mostly known as Noelia, is a Puerto Rican pop singer who rose to fame in 1999. Her self-titled debut album was certified as a RIAA gold album in the United States. During he ...

Timbiriche ''Timbiriche'' (also known for a brief time as ''La Banda Timbiriche'') is a Mexican pop music group. The group started as a children's group in 1981 and managed to evolve successfully into adulthood. Timbiriche is considered one of the most ic ...

* Tropa F * Los Acuario De Mexico *

Jenni Rivera Dolores Janney "Jenni" Rivera Saavedra (July 2, 1969 – December 9, 2012) was an American singer known for her work within the Regional Mexican music genre, specifically in the styles of Banda, Mariachi and Norteño. In life and death, sever ...

References

External links

Official site
Record labels established in 1986 2002 mergers and acquisitions 2008 mergers and acquisitions American record labels Universal Music Latin Entertainment Mexican record labels Pop record labels Latin American music record labels Companies based in Los Angeles County, California {{US-record-label-stub

Lawsuits

Artists

Former artists

See also

References

External links