Warner Chappell names Carlos Ruiz to lead música mexicana division

Warner Chappell Music has named Mexico City-based executive Carlos Ruiz Díaz to lead its música mexicana division.

The appointment was confirmed on 22 September 2026, as reported by Billboard. Ruiz will oversee operations and creative strategy across Mexico and the United States. He reports to Gustavo Menéndez, president of U.S. Latin and Latin America at Warner Chappell Music.

The role puts one person in charge of publishing on both sides of the border. Publishing is the side of the business that looks after songwriting rights, collects royalties and pitches songs for recording, film and advertising. Música mexicana is the umbrella term for Mexico's regional styles, including banda, norteño, corridos and related sounds.

Ruiz is a long-term company insider. He began his career with Warner Music Group in 1991, later served as managing director of Peerless-MCM and as vice president and general manager of Disa Records. He has served as managing director of Warner Chappell Music Mexico since 2018, according to Warner Music Group.

His team structure is now set. Delia Orjuela, head of creative for Mexican music, will report to Ruiz. She will work alongside the publisher's Mexico and Miami teams on signings and songwriter development.

The current roster includes Natanael Cano, Alemán, El Malilla, El Bogeto, Justin Morales and Máxima Ventaja. It also includes Óscar Maydon with his Rico o Muerto label, with which Warner Chappell signed a global publishing deal. Previous publishing signings include veteran group Bronco, which joined under a worldwide deal in 2020.

For fans, this means more coordinated songwriting camps, collaborations and cover opportunities across two markets. Writers signed in Mexico can be pitched to artists in the U.S., and vice versa.

The business context is strong streaming growth. Regional Mexican was the second-fastest-growing U.S. subgenre in the first half of 2025, with consumption up 32.95% year on year, according to Luminate's 2025 midyear report. Latin music generated 59.4 billion on-demand audio streams in the U.S. in the same period, up 7.8% from the first half of 2024.

Mexico itself is a streaming heavyweight. The country ranked No. 3 globally for total streaming volume, with 226 billion combined audio and video streams in Luminate's midyear country rankings. Warner Chappell said its expanded strategy under Ruiz aims to drive the genre's global expansion.