Juan Gabriel’s Estate Signs Exclusive Worldwide Agreement with Virgin Music US Latin; New Music Releases Expected

There’s new Juan Gabriel music heading your way…

Six years after his death, the late Mexican superstar’s estate has signed an exclusive worldwide agreement with Virgin Music US Latin, which will represent the singer’s post-2008 catalog and future recordings, and has also extended its publishing administration agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group, which will exclusively represent Gabriel’s extraordinary catalog of songs worldwide.

Juan GabrielThe deal is particularly important because unbeknownst to many, Gabriel left behind dozens of new recordings, including brand new, never released before material and re-recordings of old songs.

As one of the most recorded songwriters in Latin music and one of its biggest stars, the potential for those works is immense.

“We have a lot of material in different stages,” says Victor Gonzalez, president of Virgin Music Latin America & Iberian Peninsula.

This includes a third duets album (Gabriel recorded two prior to his death, both of them hits) featuring six or seven tracks with artists including Mon LaFerte and Gloria Trevi; additional, posthumous duets (which will use Gabriel’s previously-recorded vocals) will be included as well.

Gabriel died of a heart attack the morning of August 28, 2016 in Los Angeles as he readied for a flight to El Paso following a show at the Forum.

At the time, the 66-year-old singer and icon was at the apex of his career, enjoying a spectacular second act. He was in the midst of the U.S. leg of his MeXXico Es Todos tour, a 22-city arena trek that had him playing 360 stages to accommodate sold-out crowds.

He ranked at No. 18 on Billboard’s 2015 Money Makers list (just below Ed Sheeran and just above Florida Georgia Line).

He also scored the year’s highest-grossing Latin tour (bringing in $31.8 million) as well as the year’s top-selling Latin album, Los Duo.

The week before his death, his latest album, Vestido de Etiqueta: Por Eduardo Magallanes, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart. A TV series based on his life was slated for the fall.

“He was at the height of his career. He was happy, happy, happy,” says González. “He was recording while he was on tour and because he was so healthy, we were able to re-record old songs and new material, and none of that saw the light of day, because he died.”

It was Jesus López who signed Gabriel to a 10-album contract with Universal Music Mexico in 2008, in a deal with a long back story. Gabriel signed his first label deal in 1971 with RCA in Mexico when he was 21 years old, at a time when publishing was typically included in recording deals.

In 1986 — after he became a major star and RCA was acquired by BMG — he famously stopped recording for seven years in protest of his original deal, under which the label owned not only his recording masters but also his songs.

Gabriel’s recorded music output resumed in 1994 when Jesús López (now the chairman of Universal Music Latin America/Iberian Penninsula), who had just been named president of BMG Latin, personally met with Gabriel and convinced him to record again after agreeing to give him ownership of his songs.

The first album under that arrangement was 1994’s Gracias por Esperar.

Gabriel’s recording deal eventually went to Sony after it acquired BMG; when that deal expired in 2008, González approached him with a new proposal.

“I suggested 10 albums that included a live album, a banda album, duets albums and three albums of new material,” says González. The first album under the deal — Juan Gabriel — was released in 2010. In an innovative twist, Universal agreed to let Gabriel retain ownership of his masters.

After Gabriel died in 2016, it took several years to untangle his affairs. Now, with his son Iván Aguilera the sole beneficiary of his estate, his legacy is ready to move on.

In 2020, Aguilera announced a partnership with Jampol Artist Management (JAM), a company that specializes in managing, preserving and developing artist estates whose clients include the estates of Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin. Gabriel is their first Latin client, but he fit the company’s philosophy, says founder and CEO Jeff Jampol.

“When we talk about these huge legacies, they’re important not only artistically, of course, but sociologically and culturally and they mean a lot to a lot of people. Successful artists have magic,” says Jampol. “Juan Gabriel stands for something. The secret to my business is figuring out what that magic is and exposing it credibly and authentically.”

In 2020, Jampol and Gabriel’s estate — working with Melinda Zanoni of Apollo Sports & Entertainment Law Group and business manager Louis Barajas of the firm LAB — announced plans to release a documentary filmed during Gabriel’s last concert on Aug. 26, 2016, in Los Angeles, as well as a merchandise line, television series, feature film, theatrical stage show, books, tribute shows and a wax figure with Museo de Cera.

But having new music and new recordings to draw from pushes the value of the new deal to another level. Says Jampol, “These two deals [recorded music and publishing] combined are probably one of the highest valued deals I’ve made in the history of the company.”

In terms of publishing alone, “Juan Gabriel is one of the most important songwriters and artists in Latin music history,” says Alexandra Lioutikoff, president of UMPG for Latin America and U.S. Latin. “His catalog of music across 45 years is proof that great songs stand the test of time and continue to live on. Juan Gabriel is one of the strongest examples of a Latin music legacy catalog that is thriving through generations of fans around the world.”

For González, the deal will bring to life music he was personally close to.

“He was in the middle of a very creative period [when he died],” he says. “I spent some time with him in Playa del Carmen, for example, where he had a recording studio in his home, and he’d wake up and say, ‘I want to record!’ I lived it with him. I saw the day to day. He’d write and say, ‘Come and see me!’”

HBO Max Acquires North American Rights to Lorenza Izzo’s Latest Film “Women Is Losers”

Lorenza Izzo is winning at Los(er)ing…

HBO Max has acquired the North American rights to Women Is Losers, the 1960s-set indie drama starring the 31-year-old Chilean actress and model.

Lorenza Izzo

Hailing from writer-director Lissette Feliciano, her debut feature, Women Is Losers has its world premiere at this year’s SXSW.

In addition to Izzo, the film also stars Chrissie Fit, Bryan Craig and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu. The streamer will now debut the film exclusively on the platform on October 18.

Set in 1960s San Francisco, the plot centers on a once-promising Catholic schoolgirl (Izzo) who sets out to rise above the oppression of poverty and invest in a future for herself that sets new precedents for the time. The filmn is inspired by real women and the Janis Joplin song of the same title. Steven Bauer, Liza Weil, Cranston Johnson, Alessandra Torresani, Shalim Ortiz and Lincoln Bonilla also star.

Feliciano and David Ortiz are producers.

“We set out to make a film that was as bold, funny, and honest as the women that inspired it,” said Feliciano, who also discussed the film at Deadline’s SXSW Studio earlier this year. “We could think of no better time in our nation’s history for this film to reach the women of America. This is one you’re going to want to watch with your family. We’ve found the perfect partner in HBO Max who are known for their provocative and entertaining content. This film is an inter-generational story and at its core is about always having hope no matter how big the obstacles. Lorenza Izzo, Chrissie Fit, Simu Liu, and Bryan Craig give their hearts in these performances. I can’t wait for you all to see them.”

Lissette Feliciano Signs with Verve

Lissette Feliciano has new representation…

The 31-year-old Latina  writer, director and actress has signed with Verve following the success of her SXSW debut feature, Women Is Losers, which she wrote, directed, and produced.

Lissette Feliciano

Set during the 1960s in San Francisco, Women Is Losers follows bright and talented Catholic school girl Celina Guerrera (Lorenza Izzo), who survives a difficult home life by following the rules. That is until an indiscretion creates a series of devastating consequences. As Celina faces the compounded obstacles of being young and alone, she sets out to rise above the oppression of poverty and invest in a future that sets new precedents for the time.

The film is inspired by real women and the Janis Joplin song of the same title.

Simu Liu, Chrissie Fit and Liza Weil (How to Get also star.

A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Feliciano is a Tribeca Film Institute AT&T Untold Stories grant recipient, and was named as one of Shoot Magazine’s new directors to watch.

Her production company, Look at the Moon Pictures, develops original content that shines a lens on underrepresented groups, joining the ranks of creators filling the market gap in storytelling for a new young, multicultural audience.

Under Feliciano’s leadership, Look at the Moon was among the first production companies to mandate 50 percent BIPOC representation across leadership positions on and off-camera.

Feliciano joins Verve’s growing roster of Latin filmmakers including Gigi Saul Guerrero, Peter Murrieta, Cristina Gallego, David Blue Garcia, Aitch Alberto, Marvin Lemus and Aurora Guerrero.

Camila Cabello’s Solo Album “Camila” Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200

Camila Cabello is a woman on top, as she joins an elite group of fellow musicians…

The 20-year-old Cuban and Mexican singer and former Fifth Harmony member debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with her first solo album, Camila.

Camila Cabello

The album — released through SYCO/Epic Records on January 12 — earned 119,000 equivalent album units in the week ending January 18, according to Nielsen Music.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

With Cabello’s arrival at No. 1, she joins an exclusive club of female performers who initially reached the Billboard 200 as part of a group, and then later hit No. 1 with a solo album.

As a former member of the all-female vocal group Fifth Harmony, Cabello claimed three top 10s while in the group. Cabello departed Fifth Harmony in December of 2016.

Cabello now joins a list of the ladies who hit No. 1 after previously scoring chart success with a group, including Gwen Stefani, LeToya, Beyonce,, Lauryn Hill, Patti Labelle, Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt, Diana Ross and Janis Joplin.

An honorary mention goes to Selena Gomez, who notched three albums first with Selena Gomez & the Scene, before going totally solo with the No. 1 album Stars Dance in 2013.

Cabello is also the first woman to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with her debut full-length album in three years – since Meghan Trainor’s Title (also on Epic) opened atop the list dated Jan. 31, 2015. (Trainor had a previous EP, also named Title, which reached No. 15.) If we count all initial chart appearances by women (including EPs), Cabello is the first woman to top the list with her first overall charting effort since Ariana Grande bowed at No. 1 with her first full-length album — and chart debut — Yours Truly on Sept. 21, 2013.

In addition, as Cabello is just 20 years and 10 months old, she is the youngest person to debut at No. 1 with their first full-length album since 2015, when a 16-year-old Shawn Mendes opened at No. 1 with Handwritten on the May 2, 2015-dated chart. Cabello is the youngest woman to bow at No. 1 with her first full-length set since 2013, when Ariana Grande (then 20 years and two months old) debuted at No. 1 with Yours Truly (Sept. 21, 2013).