Victor Manuelle’s Solo Flight

MIAMI --- Victor Manuelle – an icon of the modern Salsa music industry – co-hosted the ‘Premio de lo Nuestro Awards’of Univision on February 19th . The salsa singer best known for mega hits such as ‘Hay que ponerle Alma’ (‘Got to put some Soul into it’) was closely followed by a huge live audience. With the release of the third album ‘Yo Mismo’ (‘Myself’) from his own record label Kiyavi , Manuelle proves once again he can soar to new heights without the aid of his ex-boss Sony Records.

Victor Manuelle’s own record label Kiyavi – a merge of the names of his 3 children – truly represents the tropical sounds of a new generation. Since he broke his long term contract with Sony, Manuelle used his own business model to successfully generate great achievements as an independent music impresario.

Early singing career
Victor Manuelle’s singing career started at an early age. His love for singing drove him to take part in school talent shows. At the time Fania Records was at its peak.  His father  - who was a very musical man but not a musician – bought the records which were big hits and played them at home where young Victor would listen and sing. There was no music school or a conservatory in his home town, so Manuelle learned to sing without any professional guidance. Sony recognized his unique singing talent and helped him to develop and commercialize it. 

As a result he went on to record more than 10 albums in the space of a decade under the wings of the multinational conglomerate. When Salsa was at its height, Manuelle lived his finest moments. But the popular salsa singer did not have any intake into the real profits the company was making as a result of his own work. As the music industry was changing and evolving, Manuelle did not complain or try to change the terms of Sony. Instead he decided to adapt and change with the industry.

2 years ago Manuelle started his own record label Kiyavi. To him this was not only a sentimental move, but it also allowed him to do other things instead of simply being an artist. Before his break with Sony, Victor Manuelle was already very much involved in the process ‘behind the scenes’:  he added a significant contribution to the production of his own videos, he had input in the artwork of the albums, he was the musical producer of his albums, and he was also involved in a large portion of the whole process.

Victor Manuelle evolved mostly because of his full awareness of the ever evolving music industry. He became a Pop singer. And since his second album ‘Muy Personal’ (‘Very Personal’) he also became a song writer, writing songs to artists like Gilberto Santa Rosa, Milly Quezada and Ismael Miranda.