Latin Recording Academy's Manuel Abud: "We Have a Big Responsibility"
Latin Recording Academy CEO Manuel Abud (Omar Cruz)
In 2021 Manuel Abud made the leap from COO to CEO of the Latin Recording Academy. Since then, he’s seen the genre grow exponentially as international phenomenon Bad Bunny and global superstars KAROL G and ROSALÍA top streaming charts, critics’ polls and box-office tallies and adventurous new artists like CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso bend the rules and bring in a new generation of fans.
With final-round voting underway and the ceremony coming up on Nov. 12, we caught up with Abud to discuss the Latin Grammys’ role in the Latin-music explosion, among other incendiary topics.
Latin music continues to grow commercially and break barriers. How have the Latin Grammys factored into that?
With everything that’s been going on, we have a big responsibility; we have to find ways to support the artists, create different platforms for them. At the end of the day, we’re partners. We are a membership organization and we're here for our members.
Bad Bunny had an incredible year. Do you take pride in his accomplishments?
Of course. Seeing Benito become the first artist to win the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year and the Grammy for Album of the Year [in 2025 and 2026, respectively, for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS] was very fulfilling. Benito is a phenomenal artist, but his rise didn’t happen overnight. A lot of people before him paved the way. The Latin Academy has been part of the growing success.
Do you aim to champion Latin artists to cross over from the Latin Grammys to the Grammys?
Not necessarily, but I have a great partnership with [Recording Academy CEO] Harvey [Mason Jr.]. He sits on my board and I collaborate with him on all things Latin for the Grammys. I'm very proud of our partnership.
Were you consulted on the Grammys’ new Best Latin Song category?
I was part of the discussion. That's part of my mission—whatever we can do to advance Latin music and Latin creators, I'm all in.
Are five nominees enough for any one category?
I think so. But I will say that certain categories have a very high number of entries and five can seem a little shy. In the pop categories, for instance, we had thousands of entries. But I think we're fine.
How about 10 for the general field?
It can be argued that it's a lot, but in the general categories our job is to showcase as many products as we can. I mean, we have 20,000 entries. For Album of the Year, there are roughly 3,000. So I think 10 is a pretty fair number. Same thing with Best New Artist—10 out of 500.
Left, Spain’s David Bisbal, Abud and Universal hitmaker Luis Fonsi in 2023 during Latin Grammy Week in Seville, Spain; right, Abud at a Best New Artist showcase with Argentina’s Nicki Nicole and 2023 BNA Joaquina
Some Best New Artist nominees have generated fewer than a million streams. Is there concern that some of them may be too new?
It’s an ongoing discussion, one that speaks to the mission of the Latin Academy to provide a platform for new artists. We're nurturing new talent. We have a BNA showcase during Latin Grammy Week where we highlight all of these young musicians. It's one of my favorite categories. I call them all to tell them how thrilled we are that they've been recognized. I go the extra mile to make sure they understand how important this nomination is.
Seven artists are nominated for Song, Record and Album. What are your thoughts on that?
It has a lot to do with the quality of the music, though I understand that it can be argued that people are voting for specific artists. I'm not blind to it. But we're always trying to make sure our members are motivated to listen to all the music, to be fully engaged.
What are you particularly excited about this year?
The variety of our Album of the Year category. One artist is over 60, one’s in her 40s and everybody else is under 40. Seven or eight countries are represented, in very different genres—you have a young, urban Argentinian [Milo J] getting nominated with a folk album. That's amazing. It speaks to artists expanding their borders, not being confined to specific boxes. I'm excited about providing a platform to as many of them as we can.