Students Aimee Jagou and Gabrielle Mella from the global entertainment and music business master’s program reflect upon the twelfth of the Music Business Seminars, where they had the chance to to learn more about the Brazilian music industry with guest speaker Leo Nascimento.

Leo-Nascimento-Berklee-ValenciaLeo-Nascimento-Berklee-Valencia-2

 

Last week we had Leo Nascimento as our guest in the music business seminar, currently director of Deezer in Spain, he’s been in the digital music industry in Latin America and Europe for quite a while. He has work in companies like Universal Music Group, Reader’s Digest, Volkswagen and other influential companies. With an opening to Samba music by great Berklee musicians from Brazil, we humbly received this incredible speaker to introduce us to the Brazil music market.

The thing we liked the most about Leo Nascimiento’s presentation about the Brazilian market was the fact that he actually took the time to introduce us to Brazil’s economic and social aspect, which plays an important role in the music industry. Brazil is one of the most important countries in Latin America and it is ranked as the seventh largest economy in the world. Clearly, the country is an emerging market and will continue to become one of the most important market in the world. Brazil most important cities and where the most activities are concentrated are between Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Obviously, the most important and political capital is Brasilia, but the most important in terms of economy is Sao Paulo. Besides of Brazil’s economy and political factors, there are other things that play a very important role in the country, like football, religion, carnival, soap operas and lastly music.

Brazil’s music market is ranked number 9 in the world. Local artists represent 70% of the music market in Brazil. Artists like Paula Fernandes, Luan Santana, Michel Telo, Padre Fabio de Melo are very influential in Brazil music market. International artists that are big in Brazil are Beyonce, Shakira, Pitbull, Imagine Dragons, among others representing 40% of the market. Brazilian music genres are diverse and vary according to region. Genres like Sertanejo, Samba, Gospel and Funk are among the most important. Since the country is one of the most catholic country in Latin America, Gospel music being one of the most influent.

Physical music still plays a very important role on the music industry, but with the growth of internet, digital is becoming very prominent as well. With the growth of internet users and the ever growing of mobile usage, digital promises to become standard this year in Brazil music market.

The development of the Brazilian digital market is opening doors to artists worldwide who wish to enter the market. Though, Sertanejo is still the most popular music in the country, the Internet has made people aware of the international music. On Youtube, Sertanejo and international pop music are both the most listened genres. Digital users are more open to international music.

Another comment Leo stressed is the huge live music income that Brazil generates. There are tremendous key partners, sponsors and venues offered in Brazil. However, Leo listed some important tips to work in Brazil. Among those, he suggested to get a partner in Brazil who will know about the legislative aspects, the culture and the market. Also, he warned us about getting a sponsor, it can be profitable but also, can require a lot of conditions. Finally, he advised us to invest in Facebook and YouTube as promoting channels.

During his lecture, Leo emphasized the development of the music industry in Brazil. Two technological factors can partly explain this development. First, the increase of Internet users: they represent 108 millions in Brazil, which is the 5th biggest audience worldwide.However, currently only 53% of the population has access to the Internet, which is a significant sign for upcoming opportunities.

Second factor is the Brazilians appetite for Android mobiles. Leo talked about a “leapfrogging trend”. Every Brazilians are getting an Android to use it to access the diverse social media platforms and, for sure, to listen to music.

Actually the most used platform is Youtube, with 62 Millions users in Brazil (#5 in global ranking).There is also a legal factor to mention to explain the fast digital growth of the music market in Brazil. Actually, thanks to the entrance of legal free music services like Spotify and Deezer, the Internet piracy reduced (by 31% in 2014). Therefore, as in most of the countries worldwide, Brazil is experiencing a fast digital growth and, digital sales were almost bypassing physical sales in 2014. Brazil was ranked in 2013 the #11 in global revenues from the digital market.

In conclusion, thanks to Leo, we got a full overview of the Brazilian music market and its opportunities, mainly present in the digital market and live entertainment.

Tudo Bem!

Latest posts by Bud Lake (see all)