FICA 2023 Recap

A month ago, we kicked off the Andean Community’s Independents Forum (FICA), WIN’s project to promote networking and association-building among Latin American professionals in the independent sector and their integration into regional and international value chains.

FICA 2023 took place from November 8 to 22 and was organized in collaboration with Circulart, VMF Pro and VIVA Arte!, with support from Ibermúsicas. It was an intense three weeks of learning and exchange, strengthening alliances and forging new ones. We tried to impulse a culture of “yes we can” to encourage independent labels in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia to unite and become stronger together.

Our CEO, Noemí Planas, was joined by Tweety González (ASIAr, Argentina), Fran Sandoval (IMICHILE, Chile), as well as Lucas Toriño and Mark Meyer (AMI-PY, Paraguay). We visited Medellín, Lima, Quito and Santa Cruz de la Sierra to promote the value of trade associations in the independent music sector and build cooperation with local professionals.

We organized 10 activities including workshops, panel discussions, and networking sessions, which were attended by over 400 people. We also participated in other activities as part of the local events we attended, and met with numerous businesses from the region.

Thanks to FICA, we established new relationships with recorded music professionals in the Andean Community and delved into topics such as the internationalization of music, streaming, and performance rights management.

FICA Colombia

As part of the Circulart conference, which took place from November 4 to 11 in Medellín, we organized a workshop “Vertebrar el sector musical a través de la asociatividad“ and a networking session “Conoce a los independiente “. Noemí also participated in the panel “Conquistando fronteras digitales: detalles y retos de la internacionalización de la música grabada ” at the Seminario de Derechos Digitales (SEDD). We met with professionals from the region during speed meetings, and important steps were taken to advance the association-building agenda in Colombia.

The meeting of the LatAm Network, WIN’s working group for Latin America, took place on November 9. Representatives from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Spain/World meet periodically to share information and strengthen the local music industry in the spirit of independence and collaboration. On this occasion we shared experiences and updates on the state of the digital market, public policies in the participating countries, and distribution rules of collective management organizations.

FICA Peru

We learned a lot about the Peruvian music scene during our time in Lima. The sector faces numerous challenges there and unity is key to facing them. This was one of the main conclusions of the FICA activities that were carried out on Tuesday, November 14 at the Peruvian Institute of Advertising, within the framework of VMF Pro, Veltrac Music Festival’s professional conference.

We talked about the value of associations in Latin America and the role they play in maintaining a long-term vision for the sector despite political and social instability. We also looked into export initiatives such as Chilemúsica and the importance of forging collaborations between the public and private sectors to carry out projects to support music. The day came to an end with professionals from Peru, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Spain getting together to enjoy a lively networking meeting and a glass of Chilean wine.

FICA Ecuador / FICA Bolivia

In Ecuador, the activities focused on capacity building including sessions for music professionals with panel discussions about music rights, royalties and the management of neighboring rights; and the value of independent record labels in the current industry landscape. These sessions were developed in collaboration with the VIVA Arte! collective in the VIVA Cerveza! venue, which also hosted a networking meeting.

In Bolivia, we attended the third edition of the Bolivia Music Awards. The gala received dozens of Bolivian and international artists at Santa Cruz de la Sierra’s Hard Rock Café. 30 categories were awarded, and the gala was attended by various well-known personalities. We built relationships with Bolivian independent labels and other industry figures, in what was WIN’s first contact with this local scene.