Jesús López, Chairman & CEO of Universal Music Latin America & Iberian Peninsula, has been named a 2026 Honorary Academician by the Spanish Music Academy (Academia de la Música de España).
The Academy awarded the title for the first time this year to 10 honorees whose careers span performance, composition, production, management, and journalism.
López received the distinction at a ceremony at Madrid’s Teatro Real on Friday (November 6).
It was presented to him by Antonio Guisasola, Treasurer of the Academy’s Board of Directors and President of Spanish collecting society AGEDI and recorded music trade body Promusicae.
The Academy’s other inaugural Honorary Academicians are singers Raphael, Ana Belén, María del Mar Bonet, and Carmen Linares; conductor Jordi Savall; artist manager “Berry” Navarro; music journalist Diego A. Manrique; producer Maryní Callejo; and composer Teresa Catalán.
“We would be nobody without a song.”
Jesús López
During his speech, López pointed to the role songs have played in the music industry’s development, according to Spanish news agency EFE.
“We would be nobody without a song,” said López, speaking in Spanish.
Academy President Sole Giménez said the honorees “represent tenacity, passion, dedication, and love for music, but they also speak of success and its various difficulties,” per EFE.
The press release announcing the honor credits López with helping to propel the careers of Spanish artists including Mecano, Radio Futura, Raphael, Joaquín Sabina, and Joan Manuel Serrat.
From Mexico, according to the release, he played a role in launching the careers of artists such as Juan Gabriel, Rocío Dúrcal, and José José.
López also created the alternative rock label Culebra, which the release describes as “a cornerstone of the ‘Rock en Español’ movement.”
Under López, Universal Music launched reggaeton label Machete Music, which the release says made it the first international record company to set up a label dedicated to the genre.
The release credits Machete with hits including Don Omar‘s Danza Kuduro.
It also highlights Universal’s “Flamenco Is Universal” campaign, which included a tribute to Camarón and Paco de Lucía.
According to the release, Universal Music Latin America set up Global Talent Services (GTS) in 2007 to grow its artist services operations, including management, co-management, and concerts.
The release adds that GTS has since opened 12 offices, manages or co-manages 145 artists, and produces more than 1,500 shows each year.
GTS became a standalone division within UMG in October 2024, with Narcís Rebollo promoted to CEO & President of the business.
“GTS was born with the purpose of being a full-service agency for artists, and the time has come for it to become an independent business unit within UMG,” López said at the time.
The release says López has also worked on the careers of Latin American artists including Karol G, J Balvin, Feid, Juanes, and Sebastián Yatra.
In March, Universal announced three senior appointments within López’s organization, including the promotion of Alfredo Delgadillo to CEO & President of Universal Music Latin Entertainment (UMLE).
López spent 11 years at BMG in the 1980s and 1990s before opening the operations of MCA Latin America.
That business became Universal Music Latin America in 1997, as MBW noted in a 2017 interview with López.
In that interview, López discussed Universal’s move into artist management, live events, and other businesses in the years after Napster.
“It seemed more than natural that we should become a full-service entertainment company with our heart set on music but with our head set on management, our arms in festivals and our legs in developing new business opportunities, especially in brand partnerships, merchandising and live promotions,” he told MBW.
López’s previous honors include the Desi Arnaz Pioneer Award, which Sir Lucian Grainge presented to him at the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame‘s La Musa Awards in Miami in 2019.
In April 2024, he received Spain’s Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts from King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia at a ceremony in Cádiz.
Promusicae, which Guisasola leads, reported in September that Spain’s recorded music market generated wholesale revenues of EUR €181.4 million (USD $212m) in H1 2026, up 11.6% YoY.Music Business Worldwide