For years, the government of Spain has been helping Spain’s tech companies grow overseas, with a key programs called Desafia, or dare in Spanish, and involving missions abroad.
This fall, Spain will send its first Desafia mission to Miami, focusing on a sector it’s never before promoted: Music Tech. The program includes an October visit to South Florida by 10 Spanish ventures in fields as diverse as marketing live concerts and managing music catalogues. The group will take part in Billboard Latin Music Week and meet with potential business partners.
“For Spanish companies, Miami offers a unique opportunity to integrate into a highly competitive ecosystem, accelerate growth and establish a solid base for expansion in the Americas,” said Isabel Aranda Ortega, manager of the music sector at Spain’s export and investment agency known by its initials in Spanish, ICEX.
The trip comes as music in Spanish explodes in global popularity, with Spain’s Rosalia and Puerto Rico’s Bad Bunny among the world’s most streamed artists nowadays. Miami shines as a hub for Spanish-language music. It’s the headquarters the Latin music division of many record labels, streaming platforms, entertainment groups and even music startups. South Florida also serves as a key entry point into the US and Latin America for tech, including music tech, Aranda said.
Spain as a music and music-tech hub
Spain is keen on promoting its music nowadays, partly through a public-private initiative called Sounds from Spain that includes a digital platform, soundsfromspain.com. Barcelona has been emerged as Spain’s first music-tech hub, bringing together companies active in hardware, software, services, startups and investment in the sector. The European Union more broadly also backs music tech, with accelerator programs in various cities.
Spain’s Desafia program to Miami runs for four months, from September through December. Executives in the 10 selected companies initially are attending meetings and a bootcamp in Spain to prepare for the Oct. 9-21 trip. After their Miami visit, ICEX will help the companies follow up on leads and build their businesses.
The mission builds on longstanding ties between Spain and Florida, the area named by Spanish explorers centuries ago for its many flowers. More than 400 Spanish companies now operate in South Florida – more than the number from any other nation. Those companies are active in industries from tech to construction, banking to food and telecom. Many set up in Miami after expanding first from Europe to Latin America and today, manage all their Americas operations from South Florida, according to Spanish business leaders.
Taking part in the Desafia Music Tech mission are:
Nevent: Marketing platform for live-entertainment events.
Musikalivr: Brings interactive Virtual Reality to live concerts.
Melbossmusic: Helps artists and labels manage music promotion and marketing with AI tools and personalized support.
Upbeat Music Tech Studio: An AI-powered app to learn to play drums.
Shakersss: Agency specializing in music influencer marketing in the Spanish-language market, with clients including Warner Music, Sony, Rimas and others.
Cruwi: Platform for music activation on TikTok.
Sonosuite: Platform that manages music catalogues and distribution.
Zoundroom: App for independent artists to capture, organize and develop musical ideas.
Breakevent: Helps music professionals make data-driven decisions about live concerts.
Balaunka: Help artists and labels keep track of where music is played and money earned.
The group is coordinating their visit with the ICEX office in Coral Gables, part of the Spanish consulate. Riffing off singer Rosalia, the Music Tech mission seems “made to divinize.”
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