Edge Rewrite
everything Source code View original
// HTMLRewriter · presentation

This page was redesigned at the edge.

Cloudflare fetched the original article and streamed it through HTMLRewriter to apply an entirely new visual system without rebuilding the source page.

// request.cf · coarse context

A page that knows where it met you.

Only coarse request metadata is shown. This demo does not display or persist visitor IP addresses.

Country
US
Cloudflare location
CMH
Connection
HTTP/2
Language
Not provided

Ray ID: a4495386d90d8a31

Jump to content

Fonovisa Records

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Discos Melody)
FONO
Official logo for FONO
Parent companyUniversal Music Group (2008–present)
Univision Music Group (2002–2008)
Televisa (1984-2002)
Founded1984; 42 years ago (1984)
FounderGuillermo Santiso
DistributorUniversal Music Group
GenreLatin pop, Regional Mexican, Tropical
Country of originU.S.
LocationHollywood, California
Official websitewww.fono.global/en

FONO is an American Spanish language record label founded in 1984 by Guillermo Santiso as a subsidiary of Televisa.[1] Its former name before being acquired by Televisa in 1984 was Profono Internacional, which was founded in 1978. FONO mainly produces Mexican style music. It is well known for its signing with artists such as Los Tigres Del Norte, Los Bukis, Los Temerarios, Enrique Iglesias, Lucero and Thalía.

In late 2002, Fonovisa was acquired from Televisa by the Univision Music Group. Fonovisa was owned by the Univision Music Group until May 2008 when it was bought by Universal Music Group. It is now part of Universal Music Latin Entertainment. Fonovisa headquarters are now in the Capitol Records Building, in Hollywood, California.[2]

History

[edit]

The company was originally founded in the 1970s under the name Profono Internacional, later rebranding as Laser in the early 1980s.

In 1984, it adopted its current name, with prominent artists including Grupo Mojado, Los Tigres del Norte, Duelo, and Banda Toro. The latter rose to prominence with the 1994 release of "La noche que Chicago murió," a song that has since garnered over 300 million streams. Banda Toro also became a leading exponent of the quebradita genre with other notable hits such as "La ruca no era ruca," "Los Ríos de Babilonia," "El hijo desobediente," and "Anoche me enamoré." During the same period, the label achieved significant commercial success with acts such as Los Humildes, Los Bukis, Los Caminantes, Rigo Tovar, and Los Yonic's. Some artists were signed to other labels while being in the Fonovisa roster for distribution purposes.

In the 1980s, Fonovisa acquired Discos y Cintas Melody, S.A., formerly known as Discos y Cartuchos de México, S.A. (DCM), establishing the "Melody" imprint. This sublabel focused on pop and rock artists, with acts such as Timbiriche, Flans, Lucero, and Thalía. Other artists under Melody included Enrique Iglesias (from 1995 to 1998), Sparx, and Lorenzo Antonio.

By late 1997 and early 1998, Fonovisa dissolved its Musivisa and Melody sublabels, incorporating their artists into the main Fonovisa label.

In late 2002, Fonovisa was acquired from Televisa by Univision Music Group, joining Univision Records and Disa Records under the same umbrella. In 2008, Universal Music Group purchased Univision Music Group, leading to the closure of Univision Records. Fonovisa is currently headquartered in Hollywood, California.[3]

In May 2025, Fonovisa merged with Disa to rebrand as FONO. Their slogan is "Música, No Borders"[4][5]

Lawsuits

[edit]

On January 25, 1996, Fonovisa was allowed to proceed with its copyright infringement lawsuit against Cherry Auction (which is known for operating the Cherry Avenue Auction in Fresno, CA) for allowing vendors to sell unlicensed records.[6][7]

Fonovisa itself, however, became the subject of controversy in 1999 when the record label admitted to paying radio stations millions of dollars in payola to play songs from Fonovisa artists. Santiso was also charged with tax evasion during the process.[8] In the same year, Interscope Records filed a lawsuit against Fonovisa over its unauthorized inclusion of Enrique Iglesias's song "Bailamos" in a greatest hits compilation. At the time, Iglesias had already ended his contract with Fonovisa and was preparing to release his first English-language album under Interscope. By the time the lawsuit was filed, the compilation had sold over one million copies. Interscope later withdrew the suit, which had threatened to shutter Fonovisa. A revised version of the compilation, excluding "Bailamos", was released shortly thereafter.

25th Anniversary

[edit]

In 2009, Fonovisa celebrated their 25th anniversary as a record label by releasing special editions of previously released albums by artists on their rosters, multi-volume compilations, a La Historia De Los Éxitos collection based on the genre. For the special edition albums, the cover was modified so that it showed the original cover in the middle with a black border surrounding it. In a corner of the original album cover, a 25th anniversary version of the label's logo would be placed, and in the top middle of the border, there would be text saying "Edición Especial - 25 Aniversario".[9]

The year-long anniversary schedule was supported by TV and internet campaigns.[10]

Some artists that got albums reissued with the 25th anniversary CDs were

Current artists in FONO

[edit]

Former artists in FONO

[edit]

Labels partnered with FONO

[edit]
  • Andaluz Music
  • Del Rancho Music, LLC
  • Desierto Bravo
  • DInero Nuevo Records, LLC
  • El Recodo Enterprises, LLC
  • Ferca Network
  • RMS Music Group, Inc. (Los Tigres del Norte's label)
  • Suceción de José Manuel Figueroa Figueroa (Joan Sebastian's estate)

Labels previously partnered with FONO

[edit]
  • AFG SIgma Records (Los Temerarios' label, now named Virtus Inc)
  • Aguila Records, Inc.
  • American Show Latin (mainly partnered with Machete Music, but focused more on Regional Mexican and subgenres like Duranguense, Banda and Norteño)
  • Azteca Records, LLC
  • Camiolvi Inc.
  • DEL Records, Inc.
  • DMY Digital (Fonovisa distributed Los Rehenes and Los Grey's works on CD
  • Good I Music, LLC (Intocable's label, formerly named Intocable, LLC)
  • Luna Music Corporation
  • Musinorte Entertainment Corp. (Los Huracanes Del Norte's record label)
  • Platino Records
  • Tucanes Inc.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Lannert, John; Burr, Ramiro (June 13, 1998). "Payola Probe Targets Latin Biz". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 24. p. 10. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  2. ↑ Philips, Chuck (July 1, 1999). "Record Label Exec Agrees to Plead Guilty to Payola". Los Angeles Times.
  3. ↑ Sutter, Mary (2002-04-19). "Fonovisa, Univision united". Variety. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  4. ↑ Flores, Griselda (2025-05-14). "Mexican Music Label Fonovisa-Disa Rebrands as Fono: 'This Isn't the End of An Era, This Is Evolution'". Billboard. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  5. ↑ "THE ICONIC LABEL FONOVISA-DISA ANNOUNCES ITS REBRAND AS "FONO" IN CELEBRATION OF ITS LEGACY AND A NEW MUSICAL GENERATION - "MÚSICA, NO BORDERS"". www.fono.global. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  6. ↑ Schroeder. "FONOVISA, INC. v. CHERRY AUCTION, INC., 76 F.3d 259 (9th Cir. 1996) (LOISLAW)". Law.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
  7. ↑ Boehlert, Eric (2000-08-23). "Of flea markets and file swapping". Salon.com. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
  8. ↑ Philips, Chuck (July 1, 1999). "Record Label Exec Agrees to Plead Guilty to Payola". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Label Fonovisa marks 25 years of Latin releases". Reuters. 2009-01-10. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  10. ↑ Cobo, Leila (2009-01-08). "Fonovisa Plans Anniversary Campaign". Billboard. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fonovisa_Records&oldid=1377932279"