Legendary songwriter and ASCAP Board member Desmond Child opened the second day of the ASCAP 2020 Latin Music Awards with a sentiment that rings especially true these days: “Music makes us dance, sing and feel from the bottom of our hearts. It brings us hope, make us feel alive. During these difficult times the power of music helps us lift our lives and our spirits.”
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The ASCAP 2020 Latin Music Awards celebration was spread over three days and showed the power and influence the genre has on popular music. Among the awards handed out: Bad Bunny for Songwriter of the Year, Romeo Santos for Songwriter/Artist of the Year and Daddy Yankee ft. Snow’s collaboration “Con Calma” as Latin Song of the Year. See the full list here.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a party without music, and artists delivered, with unplugged acoustic guitar versions and multi-cam renditions dominating, including two versions of “Aullando,” the chart-topper originally recorded by Wisin and Yandel with Romeo Santos, and co-written by Descemer Bueno. Bueno also returned to perform his winning song “Amor a Primera Vista” with fellow songwriter Horacio Palencia.
The event concluded on day three with an ASCAP Experience: Home Edition, featuring several roundtable virtual conversations with business, PR and marketing executives, songwriters discussing Latin culture, genres and the intricacies of collaborating with other songwriters.
ASCAP Chairman of the Board and President Paul Williams remarked in his video introducing this year’s Latin Music Awards that “Latin music – your music – is some of the most popular music in the world. That’s because its rhythms, passion, honesty and deep love for both tradition and transcending borders speaks to all of us – no matter what language we speak.”
In a virtual conversation for ASCAP Experience: Home Edition, Alexandra Lioutikoff, President Latin America and US Latin of Universal Music Publishing Group (ASCAP Latin Music Publisher of the Year), expressed, “Latin is not a genre. Latin is the umbrella of a culture. We have many different genres from Pop to Regional Mexican to Salsa, and others. We have different countries with different tastes. Latin is a highway with many exits! Because of the explosion of Latin music, it has become extremely important to the industry in general.”
Hit songwriter Claudia Brant, who has written for Camila Cabello, Luis Fonsi and others, advised up-and-coming songwriters: “When I write music, I do it with the artists. My process is I try to be a little bit of a shrink. I need to understand their personality, their likes. When I work with an artist, they all have their own universe, their own sensitivity. I have to get to know them. It’s not a factory here. To write a song is a very intimate moment and I need to have a connection. When I write for myself it’s more like 2AM in the morning with a glass of wine. There is more freedom about it.”
Exclusive photos and videos from Latin music’s top songwriters, producers and publishers were shared via @ASCAPLatino and @ASCAP on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. A complete list of winners can be found on the ASCAP website: www.ascap.com/latinawards20.
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