HYBE Latin America Launches New Label With Meme del Real as First Signed Artist

South Korean K-pop entertainment powerhouse HYBE launched the DOCEMIL Music label in Latin America with Emmanuel “Meme” del Real — known for his career as a member of the legendary Mexican rock band Café Tacvba — as its first signed artist.

The signing of Meme del Real as a solo artist not only marks the beginning of a new phase for HYBE but also heralds a new chapter for Latin music with the creation of DOCEMIL Music. Del Real’s “Princesa,” released today (Jan. 29), is the first single from his upcoming debut album, due later this year.

“This is a new effort by the company to open a new market. Hybe is a young company, new to the Latin market, but with a great track record and credibility in other markets in Korea, Japan and the United States,” Fernando Grediaga, GM of HYBE Latin America, tells Billboard Español.

For his part, Jonghyun “JH” Kah, CEO of HYBE Latin America, highlighted the moment as a milestone for the label. “Meme del Real’s joining DOCEMIL Music symbolizes our commitment to supporting Latin American talent and fostering limitless creativity. We are excited about what we will build together,” he said in a statement.

“In this search to find how to share my music, from doing it ultra-independently to a major label, we explored some ideas, and above all there was rapprochement, interest,” Del Real adds. “[I] found it with HYBE Latin America, through DOCEMIL Music, who are just starting up, and with Fernando Grediaga and the team he put together.”

Del Real’s new single features the participation of award-winning Argentine producer and multi-instrumentalist Gustavo Santaolalla, with whom he has been friends for more than three decades and has worked with as lead producer of Café Tacvba. The rock ballad also marks the beginning of what will be the new solo stage of the keyboardist and composer this year, as his famous rock quartet has decided to take a break.

Although this is Del Real’s solo debut, it is not the first time he’s released music outside of Café Tacvba. In the past, he created songs that were part of Mexican film soundtracks such as “No Puedo Parar” from Las Oscuras Primaveras (2015) and “16 de Febrero,” a duet with Chetes, from Fuera del Cielo (2007).

Del Real will participate in the 25th edition of the Vive Latino Festival on March 15 at the GNP Seguros Stadium as well as in the AXE Ceremonia Festival, where he will share the bill with artists such as Massive Attack, Charli XCX, Tomorrow X Together and Tyler, the Creator.

The acquisition of Exile Music in November 2023, and the upcoming release of Del Real’s first solo album in the middle of this year, continue the expansion of HYBE’s global entertainment empire in Latin America. In June, it announced the opening of new offices in Mexico City, Miami and Los Angeles and the introduction new properties to its Latin-focused operation, as Kah explained in an exclusive interview with Billboard.

HYBE is known for developing K-pop megastars such as BTS through a sophisticated artist identification and development infrastructure.

“At DOCEMIL Music we are focused on the Korean model, focused on dedicating all the resources to the projects, not only working on a volume basis, but dedicating human and economic resources to the projects that decide to sign with us,” says Grediaga, who brings more than 23 years of experience in the industry following previous positions at EMI Music and Universal Music.

The executive added that HYBE sees “great ground” in the Latin American market, mainly in Mexico.

“If we manage to make a company that has the power of a major one, but the agility of an independent one, and above all taking care of the future of the artist and his career, which is part of HYBE’s ideology — as a company we know it is not easy at all — but if we achieve it in deeds, it will be a historic achievement in the industry,” Grediaga concludes.