Universal Music’s Jesús López awarded Honorary Academician title by the Spanish Music Academy

Jesús López, Universal Music’s chairman and CEO for Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, has been named one of the Spanish Music Academy’s first Honorary Academicians. The award recognises his decades-long influence on music across Spain and Latin America, including his work developing artists and expanding the industry beyond recorded music.

López received the distinction at Madrid’s Teatro Real on 6 November, alongside nine other figures from music and journalism, including Raphael, Ana Belén and Jordi Savall. The Academy credited him with helping launch careers from Mecano and Joan Manuel Serrat to Juan Gabriel, and with establishing labels including Culebra and reggaeton-focused Machete Music. His artist-services division, Global Talent Services, now has 12 offices, works with 145 artists and produces more than 1,500 shows a year.