25 Years of LAMC: Latin Music’s Past, Present & Future Panel: 5 Best Quotes

The Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) continues to highlight pivotal voices in the Latin music industry, as shown in its panel 25 Years of LAMC: Latin Music’s Past, Present & Future. In this discussion on Thursday (July 11) at New York’s InterContinental Hotel — which featured prominent music industry executives — the panel focused on the evolution of Latin music over the past quarter-century, capturing key trends and projecting future developments.

Moderated by Billboard‘s Leila Cobo and presented by MTA, the panelists included Alex Gallardo of Sony Music Latin, Polo Montalvo of La Buena Fortuna, Luis Dousdebés of The Latin Recording Academy, Bruno del Granado of CAA, and Jason Pascal of The Orchard. Cobo posed hard-hitting questions about the evolving landscape of the Latin music industry, and whether the expansion of Latin music is more influenced by streaming technology, cultural shifts or demographic changes. She also delved into the nature of music contracts and artist development priorities in the current digital age.

Here are some of the best quotes from the 25 Years of LAMC: Latin Music’s Past, Present & Future panel at LAMC 2024:

Polo Montalvo of La Buena Fortuna, on the opportunities and challenges in the industry: “Not everyone has the same success in streaming, live or on social networks, to capitalize on each one and see how it helps us reach other places. A lot of times when we talk about and see success, we think of big artists — but there are a lot of people here who are just starting out and don’t have the access that those big artists have.

For example, with [more established artists], I have some tools with them that have developed over time, because of different relationships, agreements and situations in their career. But when you start, you don’t have that availability. So, for me, it’s crucial to see how we can help all the producers and artists that are here — that if they come to this panel or to the event like LAMC, to look at how we can support them, considering that more than 90% are starting out.”

Jason Pascal of The Orchard, on adapting global strategies: “The changes and transformations are clearly seen in the growth of the business as a whole and the explosion of Latin music. At The Orchard, this was our plan from the start; we were global 20 years ago, when there wasn’t any money being made. There are people who are still with us now who were with us back then, like Laura in Argentina and Albert in Spain. They believed in this model and worked for us, and maybe made $3,000 in an entire year from their work at The Orchard.

The plan was to have people on the ground all over the world, to be ready when streaming exploded. So, the fact that streaming and music exploded is the transformation. We’re very fortunate to have had the leadership prepared for this, starting to put all these elements in place early on.”

Alex Gallardo of Sony Music Latin, on success in the music industry: “The artistry, that in which there really is an artist capable of moving, is definitely a key point — and something that I am detecting today is that even the biggest artists find it hard to keep putting out hits. And the ones that I see doing the best are the most focused, the most disciplined, the ones that every day go to the studio, the ones that every day call colleagues to collaborate, and those whose impulse comes from an internal will of ‘I want more, I want to do it well.’

On the other hand, there are those who sit back, waiting for opportunities to come on their own. And I feel that, right now, with so much competition and so much volume, those who are more passive and wait for things to come to them are screwed.”

Luis Dousdebés of the Latin Recording Academy, on the importance of music creation: “It all starts with the creation of a song. When you’re competing with 100 or 1,000 songs a day that are uploading on Spotify alone, I definitely believe that creating good music is the key to everything. The message, the beat and what you’re conveying. Once the listener gets that vibe, that emotion of the art, it naturally starts to go viral — logically, with the help of label promotions and streaming. But if it’s not good music and it doesn’t transmit anything, it’s not going to happen.

What happens is that many people either like it or don’t like it. That’s the art; it’s the subjective part of grading. I think that if the numbers are there and there is a following [on social networks], it means that someone is liking it — and that’s what’s important on the track, knowing who is liking it and how it’s going to reach these people.”

Bruno del Granado of CAA, on the economic impact of the Latino community: “There are over sixty-five million Latinos here. We keep growing. The other thing I always say is about undocumented immigrants. They consume. They don’t come to take from this country. They go to concerts, buy sneakers, and buy iPhones […] Twenty-five years ago this summer, we were celebrating a Latin explosion with Enrique [Iglesias], Ricky [Martin], Shakira, Marc [Anthony] and Chayanne. That was a period where there was a clear before and after.”

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the 2024 edition of the Latin Alternative Music Conference includes a Q&A with Fonseca, moderated by Billboard‘s Leila Cobo; a Q&A with Residente, moderated by Rolling Stone‘s Julyssa Lopez, panels on the Business of Songwriting, Publicity and Social Media, New Releases and Catalogs, Bridging Music and Money, Tours and More. To see the full LAMC guide, click here.