Henry Alonzo is a music entrepreneur and college educator based in Los Angeles, CA.
He is the Founding Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Adarga Entertainment Group. The company is centered on providing music industry services to independent artists and record labels.
Due to the continuing growth of the company, the partners at Adarga installed Henry as Head of Publishing, where he oversees offices in Mexico, Colombia, and the US.
Some corporate clients and partners include Sony Music, Capitol CMG/Universal, Integrity Music, Curb Records, Essential Music Publishing, Provident Music Group, Reach Records, RCA Inspiration, Gotee Records, HarperCollins, Adrev, Downtown Music Services, and MultiTracks.
Henry has worked with a variety of artists including Grammy, Latin Grammy, Billboard Latin Music Award, MonitorLATINO Award, Premios Arpa and Dove Award winners and nominees. Some of these artists include Alex Campos, Christine D’Clario, for KING & COUNTRY, Fanny Lu, Ricardo Montaner, Lupillo Rivera, Fermin V (Control Machete), Tercer Cielo, Maharajah Flamenco Trio, Blanca, Maverick City Music, Lecrae, Elevation Worship, Hillsong Worship, Hillsong Young & Free, Jaci Velasquez, Miel San Marcos, among many others.
FMM: Share your background and what led you to the entertainment business.
Music is very rich in LA, especially in the inner city. I grew up in East LA; Music is very rich in that part of the city. Every week I would hear music coming from house parties, live music at weddings, Quinceañeras or family other gatherings, music as low raiders were driving down the streets, and I would also hear it at church on Sundays. You can’t get away from great food and music in the inner city. I was actually born in a neighborhood called Boyle Heights, where there’s a metro stop close by called Mariachi Plaza. Even before the metro stop, I remember seeing mariachis gather around there and people would hire them for their events. Years later while I was in college, I was able to intern for a record label that worked in Regional Mexican Music. In that internship, I learned of the diversity within the genre and also about the business of music. This is almost 20 years ago, but I do see that as a pivotal moment in my life where I no longer felt like an outsider. During that time, music in history was drastically changing and we were all adjusting to that digital side of the music industry. I remember sitting in meetings where the executives would discuss marketing, publishing, production, TV appearances, tour dates, award shows, contracts, cross promotion, and many more factors that are a part of an artist ’s career. I was just an intern, but I felt so privileged to be in those rooms and to hear people that had been so instrumental in other artists’ careers fight for their art and envision a world where the artist’s music finds its audience and touches people. I remember telling myself, “I want to be a part of this.” I have come to see the entertainment business as more than entertainment. I believe that music can be there for us during times of celebration, times of sorrow, times of help, times of struggle, times of faith… During all of these seasons in our life, even as they overlap, music gives us words and conveys the emotions that remind us of our humanity.
FMM: Tell us about Adarga Entertainment Group.
Back in the mid 2000s, as an industry, we all saw the writing on the wall. We saw that the industry was moving towards digital downloads and eventually streaming. During that time, I also saw the rise of independent artists; artists that wanted to explore their music but did not want to be in a traditional music label system. As an entrepreneur, I saw an opportunity. I knew that what every successful artist has in common is a team – a group of people that helps them with various facets of their career. I knew that a traditional record label provides great infrastructure for creating, distributing, and promoting music. I knew that I could provide the infrastructure and support to an independent artist that they needed to continue their path as independence but within an infrastructure that would help them to better succeed. This is where the idea of Adarga was born in my head. I had tried starting something years before, but it didn’t work out for many reasons. I thought that I knew enough, at least a little more, to help an artist develop, release, and promote their music. Nowadays, label service companies are pretty common but back then, I knew of one, maybe two that existed. Labels back then were not willing to be as flexible as they are now. In fact, now record labels subcontract us to help develop their artists and/or run some of their promotions. I can’t say much more of that because of some NDAs but we are happy to work within the label system and with independent artists as well.
FMM: You have represented a variety of artists including Grammy, Latin Grammy, Billboard Latin Music Award, MonitorLATINO Award, Premios Arpa and Dove Award winners and nominees. Some of these artists include Alex Campos, Christine D’Clario, for KING & COUNTRY, Fanny Lu, Ricardo Montaner, Lupillo Rivera, Fermin V (Control Machete). What will artists notice when working with you?
I believe Artists, no matter the genre, language, background, faith, political beliefs, or sexual orientation, all have something to say. Some of them have given words and melodies to our feelings, our doubts, our innermost thoughts, and even our rage at times. I believe an artist will find a partner. Working with me, I always jokingly say that I work with the artist not for the artist, but because we are partners; We succeed and fail together, one is not above the other. I think the most successful artists recognize that in their team and they know who to trust and how to trust them. Now I completely understand that this mutual trust needs to be earned and it takes time. I think what the artist can count on is that if we are working with them, we will be there. We will be there when they win a Grammy, we will be there when their tour gets canceled, we will be there when they are not feeling it, we will be there when they sell out the biggest venue in town, we will be there when their partner leaves them, we will be there when they realize their biggest dreams, we will be at their side during their ups and downs of their lives and career.
FMM: What trends are you seeing in the industry today especially for Latin Artists?
Thank you for this question, it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot these days. I was still in school during “Livin’ La vida Loca”. I think so many times in American Pop culture, Latin music has come and gone. I happen to believe that this time around it’s a bit different. I believe Latin Music is here to stay. Of course, there are many factors to this… In the past, it may have been harder to qualify and audience size, we didn’t have social media, video views, or audio streams that we could easily see. I would say another factor is the willingness of artists from different genres to come together and collaborate on songs in Spanish and English. And yet another important factor is seeing Latin artists sell out the biggest arenas in the US and across the world from LA to Miami to London to Mexico City. These Latin Music artists are doing it and growing their audiences every day. I feel so blessed to work in this industry in this time and place. I’ve been to all different kinds of parties and I’ve seen people run to the dance floor when they hear Latin music. That’s an awesome feeling to know that I get to work in an industry I love and with a genre I feel in my bones.
FMM: Tell us about Adarga Publishing and how you are helping artists to navigate the publishing world and get the royalties they deserve?
Adarga Publishing is actually the division I run within the company. It started about eight years ago when some of our artists were worried about signing publishing deals with other publishers so they would come to me with a lot of questions. Again, as an entrepreneur, seeing the opportunity, I decided to provide publishing services to the artist instead of subcontracting a music publisher. This of course was not easy. It took a long time for us to navigate the complexities of music publishing but after some years in the industry, we believe that we have a strong grasp on this part of the industry. With the growth of video and audio streaming, publishing collection has grown exponentially. We are seeing that some of the music works we administer increase in revenue because new audiences are discovering songs, sometimes because the songs are being covered by other artists and other genres or social media influencers.
When I tell people I work in the music industry, most of them believe that I am going to cool parties overnight and on the red carpet every weekend. Little do they know that working music publishing is far from that type of glamour. I look at spreadsheets and read contracts every day, but it’s nice to be let out every few weeks and go to a cool Hollywood get together or attend an award show a few times a year.
FMM: What are some of the misnomers of publishing rights?
I think the big misnomer and something that our attorney always says to us all the time is that we are responsible for policing our own copyrights. Again, we always tell the artist that we are partners with them, and we remind every artist that we are here to help them, but they should always speak up if they have questions or if they notice something about their copyrights. Some people think that just because you registered your song in the Library of Congress and have a copyright certificate all your problems go away, that just means that you are an owner, or author. I have musical works but that does not mean that people will not try to come after you and infringe on your rights. This is why I remind my artists to stay vigilant and always let us know if they have any questions or concerns about their music. Publishing can be complicated and chaotic at times, but I am very appreciative of the team I work with. They are true professionals and I know they are also looking out for artists.
FMM: Share advice for new artists.
Something I share with young artists and college students is that determination can take you farther than talent. I’ve met a lot of people who have given up on life and drive for Uber or work at a coffee shop. This of course is totally fine for a season but talent will not guarantee success. Determination on the other hand is or can be powerful; it will help you get ahead. Those artists that have grit and determination will go farther than the ones that are dependent on their talent. If you possess both determination and talent, you have a higher chance of getting somewhere in this industry. I’ve been in rooms where I know I am not the most talented person but I always tell myself that I will be the most determined. And don’t forget kindness.
FMM: You are a much sought-after speaker, where can we see you next?
I was recently invited to speak at the Hispanic Leadership Conference hosted by Concordia University in Irvine, CA. The conference is focused on inspiring high school age youth from areas where there is less opportunity. Some of them will be the 1st generation to attend college. Having a similar background, I feel a pretty deep connection with them, and I count it as a huge honor to be able to share my story with them and let them know if I can do it, so will they.
