The streaming phenomenon, the ‘influencers’ and the discussions that were part of the 2022 Heat Festival

The world goes very fast and, if you are part of the music industry, even faster. The people involved in this field, whether behind the scenes (producers, managers, distributors), or the talents who show their faces, have little time to sit down and discuss the changes they are witnessing and that is why spaces such as talks educational activities carried out within the framework of the Festival Heat 2022 They are interesting to understand what phenomena have been setting the agenda and what is to come in our region for our artists.

The Aula Magna of the Catholic University of Guayaquil was chosen as the venue for a conference that began at 9 am and ended at 5 pm after 5 conferences that touched on very diverse topics and were attended by young students of music, production , designers, among other futures involved in the Ecuadorian music scene.

The first talk was entitled “Music in the streaming era” and featured the participation of Puerto Rican Pamela Noa, from the LaMusica platform; and the Colombian Rafael Mejía, manager of Jessi Uribe, Jorge Celedón and CEO of Labor. Both analyzed how digital music platforms and social networks have revolutionized the music industry.

Noa commented on the case of her compatriot Bad Bunny who began to become a phenomenon on the SoundCloud platform and from there generated the interest of the audience and then made the leap to traditional media. Mejía recalled that something similar happened in Colombia with reggaeton, a genre that was not played on the radio, but that brought together many people in concerts, because they had already gained an audience through the network.

For Mejía, TikTok is now a “launch” social network, a platform where you go to “search for emerging talent.” “TikTok shows what is hot, in trend, what is happening is searched there,” explained the producer.

Regarding the future of music in the digital age, both agreed that the trend will be for hybrid options, offering content, as music platforms already do, but also closeness and contact with the artist, such as social networks. In addition, Noa highlighted the evolution of audio, which with alternatives such as surround headphones or 8D technology, allow you to feel inside a concert despite listening to a recording.

The talks continued with the theme “Creative minds: producing a Latin hit” in which the Chilean Américo, the Dominican Eddy Herrera, the Colombian producer René Cano ‘Bull Nene’ and the Puerto Rican Christian Maldonado ‘Master Chris’ participated. The first two had the opportunity to talk more in depth about what happens in the recording studio, where their fans do not usually imagine them since life on stage is usually the one most associated with singers.

During the discussion, the participants answered questions about the low female presence in music production in Latin America, but also about the problems experienced in composition camps. ‘Bull Nene’ and ‘Master Chis’ spoke openly about how it has become a frequent headache for producers to involve outsiders on the session or even people claiming songwriting credit for merely being present on the set. time of writing a theme.

This dialogue then gave way to another important issue within the industry: female participation. Although the title of the talk was “Building the new feminine legacy”, the panel that featured singer Fanny Lu, designer Lucía Maldonado and executive Livys Cerna covered many angles of the challenges that women in the industry must face, but mainly on how the unit plays an important role in continuing to break down barriers.

“We have to support ourselves, otherwise this growth in the presence of women in music will not continue,” said Cerna, who was part of the Latin Grammy organization for many years. Fanny Lu, in turn, pointed out: “Giving love is wonderfully empowering, let’s recognize more the merit of others. Let’s say the good.”

The interpreter of “Celos” and “No te pido flores” also spent a moment talking about her role as a mother and how she has felt seeing that her 21-year-old son Teo has decided to pursue an artistic career and has already experienced his first success with the song “Chocolatico”.

The fourth talk of the afternoon was entitled “The new blood of Latin music.” In it, 5 young voices of music in Spanish were presented: the Ecuadorians Dayanara and Andreína Bravo, the American Nicole Vega, the Costa Rican Annasofia and the Puerto Rican Chris Andrew.

All of them recounted their experiences as growing artists seeking to establish themselves on the international music scene. Nicole Vega, for example, recalled how she was criticized when she decided to make regional Mexican music despite being very young and having been born in Los Angeles. “They told me that this was women’s music and that she should do something else,” she said.

For her part, Andreína Bravo mentioned how the support of her parents, especially her mother, has been very important to be able to dedicate herself 100% to music. Dayanara said that she was very hesitant to continue with her musical career and that is why she went through reality shows and beauty contests. She also said that she has struggled with the economic constraints that artists who are starting out can face. “I started my career with 500 dollars. Sometimes it seems that it will not be possible, but you have to continue, “she said.

Finally, the last panel was dedicated to content creators. The Mexican Kunno, the Ecuadorian Kevlex, the Venezuelan Marko and the Colombian La Segura recalled how they began to upload videos on social networks and what was the material that changed their lives. But, between anecdote and anecdote, they recounted all the effort behind those recordings that seem simple due to their brevity and effectiveness.

“It takes me two and a half days for a one-minute Halloween reel”, ‘La Segura’ told as an example to demonstrate its commitment to a tool that has become a job and a professional life for many young and creative people and that , without a doubt, is increasingly linked to the world of music.