Veteran music executives Tommy Mottola and Lex Borrero have teamed up with Range Media Partners to form Ntertain — a new cross-platform content company focused on Latino talent and storytelling.
Ntertain has been quietly operational for the past six months, and is imminently preparing a slate of scripted and unscripted series and features, a well as podcasts, from top creators. The company is studio agnostic and will sell to the open market with the assistance of the Pete Micelli-led Range.
The new venture is financed by all three partners and a group of private investors, Mottola told PvNew, and was conceived with Neon16’s head of creative, Ivan Rodriguez. Full creative and business executive announcements are expected in the coming days.
Borrero is the co-founder of the record label Neon16, which has seen considerable growth since its 2019 inception, thanks to chart-topping crossover hits, including the Grammy-nominated single “Un Dia” by J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny and Tainy; “Dakiti” by Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez; and Kali Uchis’ “Telepatia.” The label also executive produced Selena Gomez’s latest album, “Revelacion,” and Paramount’s “SpongeBobMovie:Sponge on the Run” movie soundtrack and its summer hit “Agua.”
Mottola’s track record is legendary, having discovered or advised the trajectories of top artists, including Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith and Will Smith. He was credited with the “Latin explosion” of the ’90s and early aughts, sending up Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony.
“We saw a giant opening in the market for a company like this. Even though there are people providing Latino content, I think certainly what we have with our experience combined, we could create our place and our connection to the culture that is distinguished from anyone else doing this,” Mottola said.
“The global pop culture is now consuming Latin content at an incredible rate, and vice versa. Latin musicians and creators are reshaping how the world looks at our talent, brands and stories. It’s the perfect time to set a flag down and be the pioneers of that, and tell those stories in the right way,” Borrero added.
Micelli praised the men as “two luminary culture creators who are transforming the entertainment business. Lex is a maverick executive in the Latin music and content space and Tommy is an indelible titan. We are so proud to put our collective experience together to support exceptional Latin talent in creating and shaping culture through music and storytelling.”
Ntertain will be based in Miami. Borrero will continue to serve as president of Neon16 with Latin producer and songwriter Tainy, who will also join Ntertain as a partner.
