Joseph Figueroa Pushes for Soca’s Official Recognition on Global Music Platforms

Joseph Figueroa Pushes for Soca’s Official Recognition on Global Music Platforms

 

Joseph Figueroa, known in the music industry as Pronto, is advocating for Soca music to be officially recognized as a genre on global music distribution platforms.

 

In a recent Instagram post, Figueroa expressed his belief that official recognition is crucial to increasing the visibility of Trinidad and Tobago’s music and helping Soca secure its rightful place on the global stage.

 

Figueroa highlighted the challenges Soca musicians face because the genre is not always available as an official classification on major music distribution platforms. He argued that the absence of a dedicated Soca category can limit the visibility, reach and potential earnings of artists.

 

Established Trinidad and Tobago artistes such as Machel Montano and Bunji Garlin, along with emerging Soca performers, could benefit from greater recognition of the genre across international music services.

 

According to Figueroa, officially recognizing Soca would also help address some of the limitations artists encounter when uploading and distributing their music through platforms such as DistroKid, Symphonic and TuneCore.

 

While Soca is sometimes placed under the broad classification of “World Music,” Figueroa believes the genre deserves the same level of recognition afforded to established Caribbean genres such as Reggae and Dancehall.

 

His call adds to the wider conversation about Soca’s international growth and the need for the global music industry to properly recognize a genre deeply rooted in Trinidad and Tobago’s culture.

 

Official recognition, he argues, could help Soca artists gain greater visibility, improve opportunities for music discovery and strengthen the genre’s position in the competitive global music industry.