In a bid to widen awareness and distribution of Dominican music at a global scale, Alofoke Music, the label founded by media personality Santiago “Alofoke” Matías, has entered into a strategic alliance with Sony Music Central America and the Caribbean (CAC). Under the new partnership, Sony Music CAC will become the exclusive distributor of all upcoming Alofoke Music releases, and will also help market and promote those titles.
As part of the deal, Sony has also acquired the majority of the more than 700 tracks released under Alofoke Music for over a decade, including viral hits like “Que Linda” (Lomiiel, Donaty, and Papera); “Con Sonido”(Bulin 47, Ceky Vicini, Alofoke Music), and “Baje Con Trenza” (El Cherry Scom and Ozuna).
“This is a collaboration,” Matías said an exclusive interview in Billboard’s New York offices. “Sony Music is providing us a great opportunity for the platform we’ve created for music and to raise awareness of popular culture, not only in Dominican Republic but also in the Caribbean and throughout Latin America.”
Matías, known by his stage and media name Alofoke, is Dominican Republic’s best-known media personality and founder of Alofoke Media Group, a multimedia platform for urban music, culture and entertainment that’s been instrumental in the promotion and popularization of Dominican music and personalities.
Its holdings include Alofoke Music, which oversees the group’s recorded music ventures, plus radio shows, management of two radio stations in the Dominican Republic (including Alofoke Radio, 99.3FM), social media channels, and his hugely popular YouTube channels: Alofokeradioshow (with 5.49 million subscribers) and AlofokeTVshow (with over 1 million subscribers).
While the Sony deal will no doubt make use of Alofoke’s vast platform, the partnership is only with Alofoke Music, which oversees the group’s recorded music ventures, including the acclaimed “Alofoke Music Sessions”—live studio performances during Alofoke’s radio/YouTube broadcasts that spotlight emerging and established urban artists.
At a time when dembow is finally getting mainstream attention and local artists from El Alfa to Tokischa have millions of streams, acquisition of the Alofoke recordings provides Sony a strong foothold into the market, both for existing material and for new recordings. These will include strategic collaborations on select tracks with potential for global rollout under a shared rights model. The first two releases under Sony are already in development, with official release dates to be announced soon.
“We’re thrilled to join forces with Alofoke, who is a monumental figure in the music and media space in the Dominican Republic and beyond,” said Melissa Exposito, president of Sony Music CAC in a statement. “What he represents in terms of community, culture, and championing talent aligns perfectly with our vision. This partnership is about elevating regional voices in key international markets and building bridges for emerging artists to thrive globally.”
Matías originally launched Alofoke as a website where fans could download music and watch interviews with Dominican artists. When the advent of streaming services made downloading obsolete, the website evolved to become a platform for news and information on Dominican and urban music. What Matías quickly realized was fans not only wanted to hear the music but also hear the news and learn about the artists. The platform became so successful, Matías eventually also took it to radio.
“There were always a lot of websites to download music from. But I gave mine a more informative spin,” says Matías. “I wrote articles on the artists, I would go see them record in the studios and I started to post content on YouTube. YouTube was our big ally.”
Alofoke was an early supporter of many artists. His 2013 compilation album Un Sólo Movimiento, for example, includes tracks by Bad Bunny and Lenny Tavarez.
Matías also used his recording studios to record live performances, often bringing artists together to collaborate, like Lomiiel, Donaty, and Papera in “Que Linda.” On the Alofoke El Iluminado YouTube channel, the video has over 60 million views, and on Spotify, it has over 28 million streams.
Sony began to take notice. Last year, after Matías sold out the Prudential Center for a performance that included his live podcast and musical performances, he began conversations with Sony’s Exposito.
“I sum up this partnership as a blessing,” says Matías. “Not for Alofoke, but for Dominian Republic, the Caribbean, the music, including dembow, merengue, bachata, perico ripiao. All those Dominican roots rhythms that haven’t had exposure. I don’t see it as a business, because the Dominican Republic is a small country and we don’t have an international platform to support us. Sony is bringing that platform and that experience to a country that is so culturally rich. It’s putting us on the map.”
