Latin American Music Industry: Colombia grows as music production hub

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In Billboard charts around the world, artists from Columbia are often at the top. But it has been difficult for these Latin American talents to have access to high-end recording equipment and facilities. That is changing now. Several music studios are setting up in the Colombian capital of Bogotá. CGTN's Michelle Begue has the story.

Long gone are the days where Latin American artists had to fly to the U.S. Latin music hub, Miami, to produce an album.

ALBERTO HERNANDEZ MUSIC PRODUCER "Latin Artists are mostly in Colombia, or in Mexico and Argentina. Colombia is a much more central location and it is cheaper to come here and work here. Not all artists have the money or the possibility to travel to the U.S. to work there."

Colombian music producers Alberto Hernandez and Felipe Mejia, have been recording international pop artists for the past five years. They are now producing music in the newly-opened studios of the music powerhouse, Warner Chappel Music, in Bogota. It's only the second studio of its kind in Latin America.

DANIEL MORA WARNER/CHAPPELL MUSIC COLOMBIA "In Billboard charts around the world, we are seeing at least two Colombian artists among the top 10. That's a big responsibility, to create industry and become more professional. That is why we needed to open this studio."

WarnerChappel music alone has 48 signed Colombian composers working on what they hope will be the next big hit. Studios like this one provide the opportunity for regional artists to record in state-of-the-art studios.

According to "Invest in Bogota", an agency promoting foreign investment in this country, Bogota's creative industry has received 400 million U.S. dollars in foreign funding. That's more than any other capital city in the region.

JUAN GABRIEL PEREZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR INVEST IN BOGOTÁ "We have had some important players arrive in content creation such as Sony and Universal. But, we are seeing an even bigger increase in our exports. Right now, Bogota could easily be considered the capital city of Latin America that exports the most music services abroad."

And music is just one part of Colombia's creative sector. Video game technology, film, audiovisual content, and software programming are part of it, too.

DANIEL MORA WARNER/CHAPPELL MUSIC COLOMBIA "I think the creative industry is achieving a lot with little support. What we would like to see is even bigger backing from the government to achieve even more interesting things."

MICHELLE BEGUE BOGOTA "And it seems the entire country could be singing the same tune soon as Colombia's new president, Ivan Duque, has pledged to diversify the country's economy. Michelle Begue, CGTN Colombia."