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In the new “The Stars Behind the Stars” franchise, Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors share stories that have yet to be told, directly from those who aren’t often in front of the spotlight. Think “todo lo que no se ve detrás de cámaras” or “everything that happens behind the scenes.” These unsung heroes are essential to an artist’s team and its foundation. Today, we highlight CEO Juan Martín Salazar, creative director of 9F agency.

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9F’s CEO and creative director, Juan Martín Salazar, has directed campaigns for such game-changing albums this decade as Beyoncé’s Renaissance and Cowboy Carter albums and Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti. He was also in charge of the exhibition of Mañana será Bonito by Karol G in Madrid, and the pop-up of Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos in New York (at the Caribbean Social Club in Toñitas) and Miami in association with Amazon Music Latin.

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In addition, he was in charge of creating a spectacular event during the week of the Latin Grammys 2023 in Spain with Carín León, at the cultural landmark Setas de Sevilla. Salazar and his team designed a backdrop from the entrance stairs, leading to an “acoustic” stage and creating a welcoming atmosphere, surrounded by colonial buildings.

“For me it was like a Louis Vuitton show,” Salazar tells Billboard Español. “That was the goal, and I always told the home team, ‘This has to be Louis Vuitton-type.’ They didn’t want to do the carpet-lined ladder thing, and I’m super-exaggerated in some things. There are many agencies that do many things. Still, there is always that ‘rainbow touch’ that makes things look much better — and that they don’t necessarily have to be very expensive or giant; it’s like that little detail.”

The CEO began his career studying business administration in Colombia, and then spent a stage of his life in Argentina. Years later, he moved to Miami to work directly with labels such as 5020, Sony Music Latin, Amazon and Columbia Records.

“My first project was for Becky G,” he recalls. “She released a song called ‘Dollar’ with Myke Towers, and I came up with a super crazy idea — that, to this day, I sometimes say, ‘What was I thinking about doing something like that?’ It was installing an ATM on a corner, and of course, the fans came and took out bills. In other words, the ATM worked perfectly; it was not connected to the bank, but people could put their card, and Becky G bills would come out with a receipt that said: “Becky G and Dollar…’ When you listen to the song, it talks about a guy who was always pretending, and in the end, it was all super fake.”

One of the moments that Juan has also enjoyed has been being able to create campaigns for English-language artists. Another opportunity opened up after doing a project for Rosalía: “There was a time when someone from Columbia Records asked Sony, the regional company, for help to do Rosalía’s Motomami project,” he explains. “Because of that, at Columbia, we’ve been recommended internally — and ended up doing both Beyoncé campaigns for Cowboy Carter and Renaissance.”

Salazar adds, “When the Renaissance campaign came to me, for the first time, it was like, ‘Wow! Already.’ God, I mean, I’m an immigrant. I come from Colombia, and never in my life I thought I would do something for Beyoncé.” He is preparing something special with Oscesa, for the 10 sold-out shows that Shakira will soon have in Mexico City. A museum that opens on March 19 will be open for the 10 days of Shakira’s show in Mexico City.

After seven years of positioning itself within the U.S. entertainment industry, 9F Agency took a crucial step in its international expansion with the opening of operations in Mexico, led by the prominent Spanish executive Cristina Martín. 

Juan Martín Salazar tells us a little about the creative process behind some of these great projects.

How do you come up with inspiration for each project?

I like to go to fairs that don’t have to do with music, for example, exhibition fairs. Just last year, I was there — because my husband is an architect, and I accompanied him to Milan for the furniture fair. I always go to exhibitions, and there I go.

Many things, that fair, that one, were biotechnical things that had transparent fabrics, and when I came back here, I said, “Let’s do [something] with fabrics.”

How much do you get involved with each artist?

Well, almost not. It’s like the team. In the case of Karol, for example, I always work with Luis Mesa, the Marketing Director. He is like the intermediary between the artist and that. For me, there is no need to speak directly to them. I respect the communication channel very much. And in the case of a label, I always go to the project manager.

What has been your favorite project?

For me, one of the highlights was Beyoncé’s. I don’t know if you’ve seen the one at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. That was wild.

The Cowboy Carter album was coming out and we were asked to do some screenings. So, she wanted to make some projections in emblematic places of Black culture. When I went in to see, I said, “This doesn’t make any sense… They’re in Alabama, they’re in Mississippi.” I say to her team: no one is going to see it there.

So, I said, “Why don’t we do it at the Guggenheim, at the New Museum, at the Whitney Museum, in [this place and that place]? So, they said, all at once, “Let’s do it there.” When we started doing the rehearsal at the Guggenheim on the computer, they sent us a file, but they didn’t want to send us the final file. Afterward, they did not want to send the file through WeTransfer. Then, they sent someone on a plane from Los Angeles to New York with the flash drive.

This was the day we had to go out with the ad. It was 4:00 in the afternoon, and the person did not land in New York… In other words, the plane was delayed, I have no idea what happened, and they sent it on WeTransfer. And when I opened the file, it was a completely different file than the one we had rehearsed with. And this was at 6:00 in the evening, and we had to go live at 8:00. And in the end, it went super well.

[The museums] were like, “We’re so glad that Beyoncé is interested in art and black art.” Because there were art exhibitions by Black artists in museums.