How Can Artists Collect Royalties? What We Learned at Billboard Latin Music Week 2024

Billboard Latin Music Week kicked off Monday (Oct. 14) morning at Fillmore Miami Beach with a 15-minute crash course on how artists can collect their royalties. In a panel called “Global Wealth: How to Collect Your Neighboring Rights Around the World,” speaker Fernando Prados, members area manager of AIE, revealed information on the topic. 

“AIE collects the neighboring rights of its members in 59 countries and it helps the reputation and recognition of the musical work,” he said. 

“Neighboring rights” is the term used to refer to the public performance rights associated with a sound recording, which generates public performance royalties for artists and the sound recording copyright owner(s).

Prados explained that the beneficiaries are “artists on the recording of songs that are hits, as well as the main musicians who formed part of the session.” He also emphasized that “the role of producer does not apply to the rights, only if the producer is featured as an artist.” It’s also possible to do a joint venture with the owners of the master, for example Warner Music. 

At the end of the panel, he also encouraged all the artists at Latin Music Week to continue making music because “the repertoire doesn’t generate much at first, but it’s important to have it for when you get that hit.”

Over the past 35 years, Latin Music Week has become a steady foundation of Latin music in this country, becoming the single most important — and biggest — gathering of Latin artists and industry executives in the world. Initially named Latin Music Seminar, sponsored by Billboard, the event traces back to 1990, when it kicked off as a one-day event in Miami, featuring a two-artist showcase and awards show.

Throughout the years, it has taken place in Miami, Las Vegas and Puerto Rico, returning to Miami Beach for a fourth consecutive year in 2024, and has welcomed some of the biggest Latin acts, including Celia Cruz, Selena, Ricky Martin, Chayanne, Jenni Rivera, Daddy Yankee, Karol G, Bad Bunny and Romeo Santos. Latin Music Week coincides with the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards, set to air at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 20, on Telemundo. It will simultaneously be available on Universo, Peacock and the Telemundo app, and in Latin America and the Caribbean through Telemundo Internacional.

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