“When I started in the industry, in hindsight, I didn’t really fit in,” says Nir Seroussi, 49, on a Zoom call from his office in Miami. “I’d say, ‘Nobody is really building the playground where I can play comfortably.’ Because it was another world, other types of personalities would thrive.”

It took him a few years, but Seroussi has finally been able to build that playground — and now, he’s enjoying the fruit of that labor as the leader of Interscope Capitol Miami. The division of Universal Music Group (UMG) focused on Latin artists and culture — whose high-profile artists include J Balvin, Karol G, Xavi and Ivan Cornejo — has slowly but surely become a front-runner since Seroussi launched it six years ago, ending 2024 as Billboard’s No. 3 top Latin label and continuing the trek in 2025 on multiple fronts.

“From the continued success of global stars like Karol G and J Balvin, to helping drive the next wave of música mexicana with the genre’s new leaders like Ivan Cornejo, Xavi and Gabito Ballesteros, to seeing tremendous growth in international markets like Spain, where artists like Bad Gyal and Judeline are really making an impact — it’s been a standout year,” Seroussi says proudly. “That kind of range — across genres, countries and generations — shows how committed we are to Latin music and how we’re able to push boundaries while staying true to the culture.”

A visionary executive, award-winning songwriter and influential A&R representative, Seroussi joined Interscope Capitol as executive vp in 2019 following a 15-year career at Sony, where he last served as president of Sony Music U.S. Latin. While spearheading the launch of Interscope Capitol Miami, he was able to create a space for Latin artists to thrive, with no shortcuts, a deep respect for individuality, an understanding of the culture — and the same resources and expertise as the company’s biggest non-Latin stars.

“In the last six years,” Seroussi says, “I got to build a playground and open it up to basically anyone who has the talent, has that same passion and that understanding of what your role in this is, which is to serve the community, serve the artist.”

The willful vision of Seroussi that has convinced a stellar growing roster is now a “proof of concept” that has earned him the title of Billboard’s 2025 Latin Power Players Executive of the Year. And some of the artists who have worked with him say he’s been instrumental in their success.

“Nir is a light in an industry that can sometimes be very turbulent. He’s not just an industry executive; he’s a leader, a friend and a mentor,” Latin music icon Balvin says. “He’s an artist, and that’s why he understands our needs and respects each person’s different perspectives. My career has marked a turning point thanks to him. And I’m not talking about numbers — I’m talking about the security that his experience, his resilience and his voice provide. Nir is a true warrior of life.”

“I still remember sitting with him in a coffee shop when I was just 16,” adds Mexican music sensation Xavi. “I didn’t have much — I was just a kid with a dream like everybody else — and he looked at me and said, ‘Hey, we can make something happen.’ That moment changed everything. From day one, Nir saw something in me before the world did and that made all the difference.”

Seroussi’s career so far has been defined by that belief in artists — and the belief that it will take time and trust for them to develop, but that the payoff is worth the wait. “At the core of Interscope, it’s artist development,” he says. “That is my passion: developing talent. If you’d ask me, ‘What do you do? What’s your day-to-day life like?’ I would just summarize it by saying, ‘I’m a coach.’”

Congratulations on being Executive of the Year. What did you think when you received the news?

It took me by surprise, honestly; it was a lot to take in. I kind of had this flash of, “Holy crap, I’ve been doing this for 30 years.” But then I think about, “If it wasn’t for the Interscope team that we built over the past six years, we wouldn’t have had the results, and without that, I wouldn’t be in this position.” So I think it speaks volumes about what we’ve accomplished as a team, the trust that the artists have given us. To me, that’s the ultimate validation. It’s more of a reflection of what we’ve done collectively with this Capitol Miami adventure.

You’ve built your career slowly but surely. How would you describe that journey, and why do you think it took time?

There are many factors. I was already seeing that there was going to be a shift around 2018 — something was coming. We had gone through three years where you had three artists — Ozuna, Anuel AA and Bad Bunny — who all came from the independent sector, so the game was changing. When we started the Interscope Capitol project with [Interscope Capitol Labels Group chairman/CEO John] Janick, the idea was to create a different type of home, because being a fourth label that is basically offering the same menu with a different logo [wouldn’t work]. So it took us a minute to define that, navigating in a world that is changing rapidly, [cracking] the code of a new generation that sees you and says, “I don’t know who you are, I don’t know who your company is, and actually, I don’t even know what a label is.” It makes you humble again. It’s like, “Wow, I feel like I’m hustling, back to zero.” It was a very intense search, not to mention that a year later we fell into the pandemic. There was a lot of soul-searching.

I do feel that there was a lot of love from the community, but when you’re at the top and you go to a startup, it does actually let you know who your friends are. And luckily, I do feel that I have a lot of friends. But there’s always a power, some energy that wants to pull you down and not succeed. And that is also why what we did was quite stealthy. We’ve experimented a lot in finding our place and the type of artists, the type of people we want to empower. One of the first people that believed in us was Austin Barmak, who was [Argentine rapper] Khea’s manager. We had just started three months earlier, when all the movement in Argentina was happening. Khea was the headliner at the time and everybody was after him. Austin believed in the vision, and about four years later, he ended up joining the Interscope team.

How is what you offer to an artist different from other record labels?

I’ve realized that over time, the value that the few of us who remain from my era have, the knowledge that we have and the experience that we have, you can’t ask ChatGPT. Because it has a lot to do with human relationships, with interactions and with different people, different cultures. Being able to empathize and also having made a thousand mistakes and having seen the same situation a thousand times and knowing exactly if you do this, this will happen; if you do that, this will happen.

I really feel that my strength is, on the one hand, understanding that a young boy or girl has to grow as a person — they will make their mistakes, and there are things that you can’t bestow upon them or dump all this information on them because they won’t understand it. So it’s also understanding the space that they need. [And] there’s a mixture of understanding connection and culture, why something is going to connect with Gen Z, Gen Alpha, but not letting that dictate how you guide the artist. That is really a recipe for success; an individuality that actually connects.

What I also don’t see happening much is being in an environment where there’s the resilience and support. It feels like there’s a lot of anxiety about “we’ve got to have a hit. It’s all about streaming.” [But] there is no way you can build a career like that. You can’t. A record that streams a lot will make you money. Great. But to me, that’s small potatoes — that is not equivalent to a career. So, inevitably, it’s going to take years.

But being on a Latin label always had a ceiling within these corporations. Today, there’s more access, but I felt that there were certain resources that [we didn’t have]. You had a superstar Latin artist who was selling out stadiums, and yet that artist wasn’t sitting at the same table as all the artists in the general market. It felt like we’re less, we’re limited.

Is that why it’s Interscope Capitol Miami and not Interscope Latin?

That’s 100% why there’s no Interscope Latin. Just like there is no Interscope Pop or Interscope Urban. If you say Interscope Capitol Miami, there’s a certain aspect, by association, that’s understood. I’m going to be super frank: What Americans have done all their lives, in moments where Latin music peaked and they saw the opportunity, they said, “We need to go in there. We’ll hire an individual with a Hispanic name; if he doesn’t speak Spanish, no problem. Let’s give him a blank check and just go.” And you have no idea how I detest that, because it ends up being the same story. They arrive, they sign artists, they deposit them under that label, A&R moves on, there is nobody to serve the artists, they don’t understand the culture, and in the end, they hurt the artists and, therefore, damage our ecosystem.

I said, “We have to have a team of Latin experts, but I don’t want to be a Latin label. I don’t want to be a satellite. It has to be an incorporated team.” To me, the proof that we’ve been able to accomplish this and really become part of the company’s DNA is if you walk into the office in Los Angeles and you ask any team member, “What music do you guys work on?” And they say, “We do urban, we do pop, and we do Latin.” And we’re absolutely there.

When we signed Karol G, she came in, she met all the team [in] a conference room with 40 people, and I turn to her and I tell her, “This is why and how we built this, so that an artist like you has a team that knows exactly where you come from, understands it, breathes it, is part of that community.” And if you want to speak in Spanish, 70% of people here are going to speak Spanish because in general, there are many Latinos all across the organization. And you want Billie Eilish’s creative? [Head of visual creative] Michelle An is here and she’s plugged in to her project. So you have the two parts that you never find in one place: the part that understands your heritage, where you come from, that listens to the song and understands how it’s going to play out in our audience. And there’s the team that works with [Lady] Gaga, Billie Eilish — it’s the same team.

You’ve helped propel the new wave of Mexican music with artists like Ivan Cornejo, Xavi and Gabito Ballesteros. What has been the biggest challenge in that regard?

It’s hard for me to generalize because each project has its own challenges. In Ivan’s case, for example, it’s been, “How do we conquer Mexico?” That’s been the thorn in our side. And this year, without a doubt, Ivan has anchored himself in Mexico, which is something very complex for an artist not born there and with his artistic proposal. Because there are others — Fuerza Regida, JOP [Jesús Ortiz Paz] — who flow ­smoothly. You never know what the turning point is, what action you took, what you did to move the needle and disrupt. But recently, with the tour he just did in July, it literally uncovered what was evidently brewing underneath. There was something that awakened a mass following, and it was immediately reflected in the consumption of his music. We talked about this a lot before: “This is going to be a before and after.” And we broke that barrier. It’s not easy to get there, but it’s easier to get there than to stay there. So there’s still more work to do.

You’ve also highlighted the growth you’ve had in Spain with artists like Bad Gyal and Judeline. What has been your strategy there?

I go where I see talent, and just from a pure talent standpoint, I find Spain to be extremely exciting. Post-pandemic, it’s also become something of a hot spot for artists thanks to the avalanche of festivals attracting acts from all over the region. We started several years ago looking for those little gems that kept popping up in Spain. We had our eye on it, and I can tell you, between Judeline and Bad Gyal, we have a ton of things that I think are fantastic projects that the world hasn’t yet seen outside of Spain. We have a team in Madrid. We have A&R, marketing — the full menu. The difference from other structures is that those in Miami, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, everybody touches the project, which is cool because you have what is needed, which is the local perspective of the market, connected with brains collectively from all countries. It’s zero cookie-cutter — we do whatever makes sense for each project.

What has been your biggest satisfaction in these six years at Interscope, and what do you expect from the next year?

My biggest satisfaction is being able to answer your questions with examples: “This is what we’ve done, this is why we’re different,” with proof that we’ve earned artists’ trust, big or small. And the fact that we’ve already had three or perhaps almost four years of solid growth. That’s it — there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing how the playground is thriving. I’m happy if I really feel we have a group of people who deserve to be happy, to be successful and get to do what they love to do. If I can help facilitate that, that’s great. I feel that that’s my purpose. It’s really what I enjoy.

This story appears in the Oct. 11, 2025, issue of Billboard.