From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.

Rudy Mancuso releases limited edition NFT

The multifaceted musician and actor Rudy Mancuso has partnered with Aoki Industries for a limited-edition NFT series that includes a “first-of its-kind” machine that translates musical notes into physical paintings. According to a press release, the artwork titled Synesthesia is “a physical representation of the neurological condition in which sound involuntarily evokes an experience of color, shape and movement.”

“As a synesthete myself (chromesthesia & original linguistic personification), I’ve always been obsessed with the relationship between music and visuals,” Mancuso said in a statement. “Although at times debilitating, I’ve found that this condition has enhanced my abilities as a creative and is ultimately what inspired this experiment. We’ve seen art pieces created to sound or inspired by music. What we haven’t seen much of is art that’s actually being created by the music. For the first time done in this way, we’ll see what the music actually looks like. The music is the artist.”

The four-piece NFT series is now available here. To get a better understanding of how the performance art was actually created, watch the video below.

Juanes album + documentary

Juanes has confirmed that his new album, Origen, will be released May 28, along with a documentary set to premiere on Amazon Prime that same day. As a preview to his 10th studio album, a collection of reimagined songs that have inspired his career, the Colombian star previously dropped his version of Fito Paez’s “El Amor Después del Amor” and a Spanish-language version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.”

“Our origin is where the direction of our life and place in the universe begins and takes shape,” Juanes said. “For me, it is built upon a love of music instilled by my family, appreciation of my culture, and the discovery of the songs and artists that first completely stirred my soul. It’s the music deep in my heart, never to be forgotten.”

Watch the documentary’s trailer below.

Three new must-watch tropical music documentaries

Renowned Tropical artists Juan Luis Guerra, Romeo Santos, and Tony Succar unveiled their upcoming music specials or documentaries, respectively, proving that tropical music is very much alive.

Bachata crooner Romeo announced his concert film Romeo Santos: Utopia Live From MetLife Stadium and documentary Romeo Santos: The King of Bachata, which fans can watch through pay-per view on June 25. Dominican superstar Guerra confirmed his upcoming HBO Latino special, Juan Luis Guerra: Entre Mar y Palmeras, for June 3. And the award-winning Peruvian musician, composer and producer Succar is premiering his music documentary Mas De Mi on May 20 (more info on how to watch here).

Camilo announces first-ever U.S. tour

On May 21, tickets go on sale for Camilo’s first-ever U.S. outing, the Mis Manos (My Hands) tour, titled after his recently-released album. The tour, produced by Loud and Live, hits theaters in 14 cities, beginning with Miami’s Filmore on Oct. 22 and ending at San Juan, Puerto Rico’s Coca-Cola Theater on Dec. 3.

“This is the first time I’m going on stage to perform my songs with my band,” Camilo tells Billboard. “The expectation of looking my fans in the eye, and having them look into my eyes and sing those songs, which are anthems of hope, makes this an almost mystical encounter.”

Twitter Space chat ft. Rauw Alejandro, Sech & Mariah Angeliq

Rauw Alejandro, Mariah Angeliq and Sech came together virtually via Twitter Spaces on Thursday (May 13) for a Road to the Billboard Music Awards conversation on how reggaeton has helped popularize Latin music in the U.S. and globally, the importance of collaborations in the Latin space and social responsibility.

The three artists kicked off the candid conversation talking about the projects they’re currently working on. Both Alejandro and Angeliq are in the studio adding the last touches to their forthcoming albums. “Albums are very special for me,” said Alejandro, while offering some advice to Angeliq, who will drop her debut set this year. “Take your time and if you like it, that’s all that matters.” Meanwhile, Sech is focused on promoting his recently released album 42.

For more highlights from their conversation, check here.

Edited by Dan Rys

UMG Executive Committee’s Big Payday

Universal Music Group’s 11-person executive committee was paid a total of $128.4 million in short-term employee benefits — most likely salaries and bonuses – in 2020, according to financial information released by the music group’s parent company Vivendi.

When post-employee benefits and share-based payouts are added, that total jumps to $132 million — almost double the $62.2 million paid to the executive team in 2018.

According to the UMG website, the executive team consists of UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge; executive vp Michele Anthony; chairman/CEO of Central Europe and Deutsche Grammophon, Frank Briegmann; executive vp and general counsel Jeffrey Harleston; executive vp and chief people and inclusion officer Eric Hutcherson; United Kingdom and Ireland chairman/CEO David Joseph; executive vp marketing Andrew Kronfeld; executive vp/CFO Boyd Muir; executive vp digital strategy Michael Nash; executive vp/chief administrative officer Will Tanous; and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) chairman/CEO Jody Gerson.

The financial data drop, which Vivendi likely released in preparation for UMG’s expected to become publicly traded in late-September, does not specify how that $128.4 million was divvied up among the 11 executives. Were it distributed equally (it’s not), it would amount to an $11.7 million 2020 payday for each executive — not enough to buy happiness, perhaps, but sufficient to purchase a yacht that would float pretty close.

Financial observers note that executive team compensation expected to look even richer once UMG goes public, as the company will probably have its own management incentive stock plan. But as things stand now, UMG’s executive team likely received higher salaries due because they don’t have such a management incentive stock plan. In order to attract and maintain top talent, UMG has to compete with the Warner Music Group, which does have a management incentive stock plan that will someday deliver hundreds of millions of dollars to its upper management team. Also, the salary structure for the executive management board probably reflects the value that the team has created down through the years through its management of UMG: In 2013 Softbank offered to buy UMG from Vivendi for $8.5 billion; currently, UMG is valued at about $40 million.

UMG’s total personnel costs in 2020, including the executive management team, were $1.42 billion of which $1.2 billion went to salaries – 17.6% of the companies $8.04 billion in revenue.

Last year, Universal carried on average 8,800 employees, up from 8,400 in 2019 and 7,900 in 2019. If the executive team’s compensation is excluded from overall salaries and total benefit compensation, that works out to an average salary of $121,000 and an average benefits package — which also includes social security and other employee costs — of $147,000. But, again, this is still skewed somewhat higher by salaries and bonuses paid to label chairman like Republic’s Monte Lipman and Interscope’s John Janick, which are generally not disclosed. (The foreign currency translations used in this story are based on the annual average exchange rates experienced by Vivendi and quoted in the company’s annual financial results for the year of 2020 — 1 euro to $1.13; and 2018 — 1 euro to $1.187.)

UMG declined to comment . –-Ed Christman

Joni Chats With Clive At Grammy Gala

When part two of Clive Davis’ invitation-only virtual Pre-Grammy Gala takes place on May 15, the festivities will include a prerecorded interview with Joni Mitchell that was conducted by the master of ceremonies. A source in Davis’ camp says that during the conversation, Mitchell, 77, cites Édith Piaf and her early exposure to Black artists as influences on her jazz-influenced style of songwriting. While growing up in Alberta, Canada, she tells Davis, “There was a sideshow when the fair came to town called Harlem in Havana. We were all forbidden by our parents as kids to be seen even standing there watching because it was Black burlesque,” she recalls. “But they played a really sexy version of [Jimmy Forrest’s] ‘Night Train’ and that piece of music really affected my writing,” she explains.

When Davis asks for Mitchell’s reaction to the multitude of artists who have been influenced by her work and covered her songs, Mitchell, who has given few interviews since recovering from a 2015 aneurysm that affected her speech and ability to walk, says that she was told repeatedly over the course of her career, “Nobody is ever going to cover your songs. They are too personal.”

Other artist conversations slated for the gala include Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, Elton John, Paul Simon, H.E.R., DaBaby, Carlos Santana, Rob Thomas, Dave Grohl, Dionne Warwick, Slash and Donovan. –Frank DiGiacomo

On the first episode of her new podcast The Ally Brooke Show, Ally Brooke opens up about the mental and verbal “abuse” she allegedly suffered while in Fifth Harmony.

For the first time, the 27-year-old singer talked about her time with former bandmates Normani, Lauren Jauregui, Camila Cabello and Dinah Jane in the hourlong “My Time in Fifth Harmony / I Believe in Miracles!” episode that premiered Wednesday. Despite praising them for being the biggest girl group of the 2010s that will “be in the history books,” she says, Brooke shed light on some of the darker moments she experienced.

“I hate saying this: My time in Fifth Harmony, I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t love it,” she confessed. “It was hard because there was so much going on. So much behind the scenes, so much toxicity, so much abuse, so much abuse of power, so much mental abuse, verbal abuse. And it’s just horrible and to me, it’s a shame because we were so big. I should have enjoyed myself more.”

Brooke was also candid about the “competitive” environment the girls were in, including the “fight for our lives” to see who got to sing the good parts of a song, and the environment felt hostile. “There was such inappropriateness, too, within the label — talking to us a certain way, talking to me a certain way, making me feel uncomfortable, making me feel inferior and knowing that they can make me feel that way because I was a woman,” she said.

She told Extra on Thursday about the “inappropriateness” she experienced. Brooke recalled at one point how she approached a male executive for help when the girl group was going through a breaking point, and how his alleged behavior ended up making her feel “helpless.”

“There was a lot happening within the group, and we were kind of breaking, and I went to this executive for help. This person said, ‘Oh yes, I can help you. No problem.’ And I felt so much comfort in going to someone,” the “No Good” singer recalled in the interview. “This man, he approached me with a thong. That was the first thing that he gave me. When you go to someone for help and all they meet you with is inappropriateness, it’s horrible … I felt embarrassed, ashamed. I felt helpless.”

Brooke also told Extra’s Jenn Lahmers that sharing the ups and downs she faced in 5H in her new podcast allows her to be more “vulnerable,” which she’s felt very nervous about, and be “real and raw with my fans.” She also points out in her own podcast what she hopes listeners will take away from it while sharing an important reminder for other female artists in the business.

“I’m so thankful I survived that period in my life, and again, I take the blessings with Fifth Harmony and the lessons, because I learned a lot of lessons,” Brooke said in the first podcast episode. “And I hope by me sharing my story that I can help someone else to speak out, to speak up, to maybe be alert and be aware, and know that there’s a better way to get things done, there’s a better way to live and to thrive in this industry. And we as women, we deserve our respect.”

Billboard has reached out to Fifth Harmony’s labels, as well as reps for Normani, Jauregui, Cabello and Jane.

Listen to the first episode of The Ally Brooke Show below.