Afo Verde has been chairman and CEO for Sony Music Latin Iberia since 2012, overseeing the music careers of more than 400 artists, including superstars like Ricky Martin, Shakira, Marc Anthony, Maluma, Ozuna, Romeo Santos, Carlos Vives, Camilo and Rauw Alejandro.
But before being a music executive, Verde was a producer and musician — he played guitar with Argentine reggae band La Zimbabwe — who also considered becoming a professional soccer player and an architect and whose life changed after performing as an opening act at a UB40 concert.
Verde is featured in this week’s episode of “Latin Hitmaker,” the Billboard podcast that tells the stories of the visionary executives behind the artists and their hits and that features a new guest every Wednesday. “Latin Hitmaker” is featured as a “fresh find” in this week’s edition of Spotify’s music podcast hub theLINER.
Here are five nuggets from this very personal conversation with Verde, as well as a link to the full episode.
On performing alongside UB40 in Argentina in the 1990s: “It was a time of crazy inflation. So, having someone from Birmingham playing in Buenos Aires, was like out of Mars. But the guys were amazing. We played our soundcheck and they said: “Tonight, we want you to get up there and play with us.”
On the importance of studying architecture and marketing to his music career: “Studying gives you a method, consistency, goals and clear objectives. Art and culture tend to have a natural disorganization. Any method helps so that things don’t happen by accident, but instead are provoked to happen.”
On betting (and winning) on “risky” musical proposals: “I love it when an artist is fearless and walks where no one else treads. Those who take risks are those who go far.”
On staffing his company with many musicians: “Imagine an ice cream shop where no one can make ice cream. Obviously, we need a team of diverse capabilities. But the more people I have who come from music, the better for us. That’s one of our banners.”
What he’s looking forward to in the industry: “A return to normalcy and to live shows.”
Listen to the full episode here:
