BMI’s popular “How I Wrote This Song” panel returned to Billboard Latin Music Week in Las Vegas on Wednesday (April 24), inviting five of reggaeton’s most prominent producers to share stories about their biggest challenges and triumphs.
On hand this year: Seasoned beatmakers Haze (Anuel AA‘s “Amanece”), Young Martino (“Te Bote”), Tainy (“I Like It”), Nely (“Rakata”) and Luny of duo Luny Tunes (“Gasolina”). Their collective résumés include collaborations with Daddy Yankee, Wisin & Yandel, Cardi B, J Balvin and more on some of the biggest reggaeton hits of the decade.
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In a panel moderated by BMI vice president, Latin Delia Orjuela and Talento Uno Music founder Gustavo Lopez, the group discussed reggaeton’s journey from the underground clubs of Puerto Rico in the ’90s to today’s Billboard Hot 100 and the lessons they’ve learned as producers along the way.
Catch up on five things we learned from the discussion below.
Nely and other pioneering producers had to fight to get credit for their work
“It wasn’t easy for us,” admitted Nely, who says he learned how to navigate publishing, royalties and other streams of revenue from Luny. “I’ve always had a percentage of my catalog, and that’s something a lot of producers didn’t have the ability to do.” Ultimately, Haze was able to prove his worth through the results of his first few hits. “When you get positive results, it gives [artists] confidence to give us that portion we want,” he said. “But it’s a business, and we had to fight for it.” That determination paved the way for a new generation of producers, like Tainy, who was taught and signed by Luny. “It was a blessing that I didn’t have to learn everything by myself,” he says.
At first, Luny couldn’t get Puerto Rican radio stations to play “Rakata”
Performed by Wisin & Yandel as part of Luny Tunes’ 2005 Mas Flow 2 compilation, hit “Rakata” kick-started the production duo’s career. But Luny said that they “had a lot of competition in Puerto Rico, and [radio stations] didn’t want to play it.” Even so, he pushed for it to be the compilation’s first promotional single: “I started to work on radio by myself.” His efforts paid off: “Rakata” hit the Hot 100 (a rarity in the early 2000s) and became one of Luny Tunes’ first major commercial successes, not to mention a now-signature track for Wisin & Yandel.
Tainy wants to collaborate with Justin Bieber and Kanye West
In a little over a year, Tainy has collaborated with the likes of Cardi B, Bad Bunny, J Balvin and Selena Gomez. Up next? “I want to work with Justin Bieber,” he said. “And I would like to work with Kanye West, because I’m a fan as a producer and artist, and each of his albums are a big influence [on me].”?
Everyone agrees: A young producer’s most valuable asset is hard work
“It’s about working nonstop,” advises Young Martino, who prepares anywhere from five to 10 beats per day so that he’s always prepared to share fresh sounds with artists. Adds Nely: “You need to work consistently and have ideas, and you need to work a lot. You need to dedicate a lot of hours to see progress.”
Still, for Luny, it was important to find a balance between work and rest — especially when the money first started rolling in for Luny Tunes. “Something that happens to all of us is that you’re really hungry at the beginning,” he said. “But once you start to make a lot of money, that has happened to us, you stop going to the studio to deal with the business. There needs to be a way to achieve a balance, and for it not to affect you or your career.”
But every producer has a “secret sauce”
For Haze, “my secret sauce is trust. I trust what I do, and I know what my work is capable of doing.” Young Martino found a sweet spot in “do[ing] different things and innovat[ing] without straying too far from the classic reggaeton.” And in Tainy’s studio, the best approach is “learning about different kinds of sounds and instruments, whatever I can incorporate, so that it’s something different.” Nely agrees, adding that “making reggaeton beats is so complicated because it’s always the same rhythm, but you need to incorporate new sounds with the drums or with the melody.” Finally, Luny tips his hat to his partner-in-crime, Tunes: “He makes music because he loves it. He doesn’t care about money or anything. When you work with those artists, they make you go the extra mile.”