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The Frost School of Music joined the Latin music world\u2019s top industry event in October, the annual\u00a0<\/span>Billboard Latin Music Week<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>in Miami, strengthening its connections to an important and growing musical genre with which the school has a long history.<\/p>\n The Frost School co-sponsored a VIP event, Billboard Latin Power Players, showcasing alumni and supporters who\u2019ve made an impact in Latin music, with one, publishing executive Jorge Mejia, B.M. \u201996, receiving an award from Billboard alongside other top industry leaders. Faculty, students, alumni, and staff attended the conference, held from October 20 to 24. The Frost School was the only educational institution at The Industry Roundtables, an event where conference attendees met one-on-one with representatives from companies such as international music festivals, PR firms, and concert giant Live Nation. And\u00a0<\/span>an article in Billboard magazine<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>highlighted the Frost School\u2019s role in the Latin music world.<\/p>\n Leila Cobo, Billboard Chief Content Officer, Latin\/Espa\u00f1ol, welcomed the Frost School at the Latin Power Players event on the conference\u2019s opening night, where the magazine presented awards to some of the most influential figures and companies in Latin music, including the heads of Universal Music Latin and Interscope Capitol Miami.<\/p>\n The invite-only party, at Casadonna, a glamorous outdoor venue overlooking Biscayne Bay, included executives from streaming companies, record labels, publishers, distributors, and the Latin Grammys. They mingled with stars like\u00a0<\/span>J Balvin<\/a>, a Colombian urban and electronic artist;\u00a0<\/span>Peso Pluma<\/a>, a Mexican singer and rapper; and legendary producer Emilio Estefan, a Frost School supporter, honorary doctorate recipient, and Dean\u2019s Advisory Board member who was highlighted by Billboard as the top Latin music producer of the 21st century.<\/p>\n \u201cSo many executives from our business are graduates from the Frost School,\u201d Cobo told the crowd. \u201cI invite you to look at the display in back, where you\u2019ll see all those people that you know and have worked with.\u201d<\/p>\n Frost School alumnus Jorge Mejia, president and CEO of Sony Music Publishing US Latin and Latin America, accepting his Latin Power Player award. Photo courtesy of Billboard, LLC.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The Frost School joined the Billboard event as Latin music continues to be one of the fastest-growing and most influential genres in the U.S. In October, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)\u00a0<\/span>reported<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>that recorded music revenues for Latin music outpaced other genres, growing nearly 6% over the past year, making it a half-billion-dollar sector that is now the fourth-largest genre in the country.<\/p>\n This is the 12th year in a row that Latin music has expanded, demonstrating not just its strength among Hispanics, who are 19% of the US population, but also its increasing appeal to general audiences. The music\u2019s popularity can be seen in the success of acts like Bad Bunny, the global superstar headlining the 2026 Super Bowl\u2014with whom Frost School triple alumnus\u00a0<\/span>Carlos \u201cCarlitos\u201d Lopez<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>collaborated to\u00a0<\/span>lead an orchestra<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>for the star\u2019s 2024 U.S. tour\u2014and Shakira, with whom alumnus\u00a0<\/span>Brendan Buckley<\/a>, B.M. \u201996, has played drums for over a quarter century.<\/p>\n \u201cLatin music in the US continues to gain popularity and generate increased value thanks to the incredible artists whose music connects across language and geographical barriers,\u201d RIAA vice-president of research Matt Bass said in a statement.<\/p>\n Legendary music producer Emilio Estefan, an honorary degree holder and member of the \u00a0the Dean\u2019s Advisory Committee at the Frost School, poses with his photo on the display of Frost School alumni for Billboard Latin Music Week. Photo courtesy of Billboard, LLC.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Mejia<\/a>, a Latin GRAMMY-nominated classical pianist and composer who is the president and CEO of Sony Music Publishing US Latin and Latin America, thanked the Frost School and paid tribute to Latin music\u2019s successes as he accepted Billboard\u2019s Power Player award for his company as publishing corporation of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cThis award also has the name of this Latin music industry that we have all built together,\u201d Mejia said. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing what we have become and what we are becoming.\u201d<\/p>\n Mejia was one of several Frost School alumni showcased at the conference, hosting a songwriter Q&A with Sony artist Danny Ocean, a star singer-songwriter. Fellow alumnus Julio Reyes Copello, M.M. \u201900, one of Latin music\u2019s top producers, joined Spanish pop star Pablo Alboran in the \u201cMaking the Hit, Live<\/a>\u201d panel, one of the conference\u2019s top daytime events. An\u00a0<\/span>Icon Q&A<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>featured Emilio Estefan and his wife Gloria, the pioneering Latin pop crossover star who holds an honorary doctorate from the Frost School, and has become a strong supporter and frequent collaborator.<\/p>\n The display of Frost School alumni at the Billboard Latin Power Players event. Photo courtesy Billboard LLC.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The Frost School\u2019s long history with Latin music goes back to the 1980s, when multiple alumni played or worked with the Estefans\u2019 Miami Sound Machine. One of them was singer Jon Secada, B.M. \u201983, M.M. \u201986, whom the Estefans launched as a multi-million-selling crossover star in the early 1990s.<\/p>\n As Miami became the capital of the U.S. Latin music industry in the 1990s, home to most of its major labels and numerous top acts, Frost School graduates naturally found opportunities here. In addition to Buckley, they\u2019ve included Julio Bagu\u00e9, M.M. \u201993, a producer and top executive at\u00a0<\/span>peermusic<\/a>, the world\u2019s largest independent music publisher; Lee Levin, B.M. \u201989, a multi-GRAMMY winning drummer, producer, and musical director for numerous stars; Lester Mendez, B.M. \u201982, a Grammy-winning producer and songwriter with the likes of Enrique Iglesias and Jennifer Lopez; and George Noriega, B.M. \u201995, a songwriter, producer, and independent label owner who\u2019s worked with stars such as Juanes and Man\u00e1. One of the school\u2019s leading and longest-serving professors,\u00a0<\/span>Reynaldo Sanchez<\/a>, B.M. \u201979, M.M. \u201982, is a former music director for Latin pop star Chayanne and continues to connect students with the Latin music world.<\/p>\n That history, as well as Miami\u2019s continued prominence in the Latin music world, continues to draw bi-cultural and genre-crossing students to the Frost School. More recently they\u2019ve included leading producers, such as Lopez; Copello; Federico Vindver, B.M. \u2018\u201908, whose eight 2025 Latin GRAMMY nominations include one for Producer of the Year; and Natalia Ramirez, M.A. \u201917, an A&R manager and Latin GRAMMY winning engineer; as well as executives like Pablo Ahogado, M.M. \u201914, the VP of A&R for Concord Music Publishing, which just opened a Miami office for its Latin music teams. Frost School alumni regularly feature among the\u00a0<\/span>nominees<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>for the annual Latin GRAMMY Awards.<\/p>\n The partnership with Billboard is part of recent efforts by the Frost School to\u00a0<\/span>expand and highlight<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>its relationships in the Latin music world. For two years, it has hosted the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation\u2019s annual scholarship awards ceremony at the Knight Center for Music Innovation. This year, it co-sponsored a $120,000 four-year\u00a0<\/span>scholarship<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>with the non-profit organization, for singer and songwriter Irenda Arano Diaz.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Legendary](\"https:\/\/news.miami.edu\/frost\/_assets\/images\/images-stories\/2025\/10\/2-billboard940x529.webp\")
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