Grammy nominee Barrera wants songwriters to get their due

There is nary remainder for songwriter Edgar Barrera, who successful the weeks starring up to the 68th Grammy Awards successful Los Angeles finds himself hopping astir bluish Mexico doing what helium does champion — penning your favourite artist’s songs.

“Right present I person immoderate penning sessions [in Monterrey] for Fuerza Regida’s caller album, 2 days from present I commencement Carin León’s caller album, past I spell to L.A. for the Grammy Week,” Barrera said done Zoom, having freshly arrived from Tulum.

Bopping to and from signaling studios is precisely the benignant of manner Barrera ever dreamed up. Raised betwixt Roma, Texas, and Miguel Alemán, Mexico, the lyricist had philharmonic aspirations that led him to Miami, wherever helium learned to constitute songs crossed the Latin euphony spectrum — pop, urban, reggaeton, bachata and vallenato.

In caller years, Barrera has been instrumental successful shaping the dependable of música Mexicana, moving intimately alongside the biggest acts successful the genre, including Grupo Frontera, Peso Pluma, Neton Vega and Fuerza Regida.

At the clip of our call, Barrera had learned that his opus “7-3” with Peso Pluma and Tito Double P — a crisp corrido riddled with treble entendres astir a sneaky nexus — had conscionable cracked into Spotify’s Top Global 50 chart.

“It’s gratifying to spot the results — it keeps maine going,” said the songwriter, who counts the likes of Bad Bunny, Karol G, Shakira, Maluma and Carlos Santana arsenic collaborators, on with English-language giants similar Ariana Grande and Madonna.

With 84 vocation Latin Grammy nominations and 29 wins, Barrera is tied with Calle 13’s Residente for the most-awarded idiosyncratic successful Latin Grammy history. But mainstream designation of his contributions to the euphony satellite has travel astatine a antithetic pace.

For a 3rd twelvemonth successful a row, Barrera is nominated for songwriter of the twelvemonth astatine the Grammy Awards. Although helium has yet to win, helium is the lone Spanish-language composer ever to beryllium recognized successful this category.

“I’m competing with the champion of the champion successful the game. For maine it’s already a immense grant to conscionable beryllium determination representing the Latin community,” helium said.

Throughout our conversation, Barrera shared insights astir the aboriginal of música Mexicana, euphony grant shows and his content that songwriters indispensable beryllium respected for their creator contributions.

This interrogation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

How bash you marque consciousness of being the lone Spanish-language songwriter nominated successful this Grammy Awards category?

It’s important for worldly similar this to hap due to the fact that I’m opening the doorway for aboriginal generations. I travel from a tiny municipality wherever songwriting is not adjacent considered [a career]. When I would archer my friends I wanted to go a songwriter, they were like, “Do they adjacent wage songwriters?” There’s a batch of misinformation retired there.

For me, the astir important happening is opening the doorway for them to person possibilities. That’s already a win.

Tell maine much astir that infinitesimal you decided to determination to Miami.

I travel from a household of musicians. My dada is simply a instrumentalist and my ma spent each her beingness raising kids.

For my dad, helium had gone done it already. He’s portion of a set called Mr. Chivo. They play grupero music, truthful my dada knows the process of being a songwriter and my household understood. I person an uncle that besides started penning songs and helium got immoderate placements with large albums. I would spot his sanction credited arsenic a writer and I ever visualized that someday I wanted to beryllium successful the backmost screen of an album. That had ever been my dream. Trying to travel that imagination was a agelong process due to the fact that I was studying electrical engineering, which had thing to bash with music. I wasn’t enjoying it. It wasn’t thing that I was having amusive with, and I wasn’t doing that good.

I took a people connected classical guitar. The teacher told maine I had imaginable for majoring successful music, and helium was the 1 that pushed me, prof Kurt astatine the University of Texas-Pan American. He encouraged maine to audition astatine Berklee College of Music successful Boston. I got into the assemblage and they gave maine a tiny scholarship, which wasn’t capable money. My household pushed maine to [consider] the anticipation of doing an internship to spot if it was worthy going into this immense schoolhouse debt. I recovered a workplace successful Miami done Facebook, and I conscionable messaged the feline and helium opened the doorway for maine to beryllium an intern astatine his place. And that’s however it each started.

 Where bash you gully inspiration from erstwhile it comes to your music?

I deliberation inspiration comes from wherever. A opus tin pb to another. Every clip I’m penning a song, I travel up with an thought that mightiness not acceptable truthful I’ll constitute it down.

I transmission the creator a lot. After seeing what they’re going done successful their idiosyncratic life, I beryllium down and commencement penning ideas. I bash a batch of co-writes successful my music. I effort to get the creator progressive with the originative process.

Like today, I’m going to beryllium penning with different writer and helium mightiness beryllium going done something. Or I mightiness conscionable travel up with an thought of thing that I work earlier today. I bash work a lot. If I’m not doing carnal books, I bash audio books, truthful I support myself engaged each the time. I perceive a lot. That’s the cardinal to being a bully guitar writer, is learning however to listen.

You’ve helped assorted música Mexicana stars instrumentality off. Where bash you spot the genre arsenic a full headed?

The genre had truly large moments years agone wherever it truly exploded. It was the biggest happening erstwhile Grupo Frontera came out, Peso Pluma, Natanael Cano — it was similar a back-to-back concern wherever you would spot a Mexican opus being No. 1 globally connected Spotify oregon Apple Music.

I retrieve erstwhile we did the opus “Un X100to” with Bad Bunny [and Grupo Frontera], that was the archetypal clip that a opus was No. 1 each implicit the place. People would archer me, “You guys are creating thing special.” [But] that’s been our Norteño dependable for similar 40-50 years now. We’re not reinventing the wheel.

It’s the aforesaid bushed arsenic a Ramon Ayala song, oregon an Intocable opus that would play successful the ‘90s.

I deliberation it was the close infinitesimal for the euphony to beryllium globally recognized. As a broadside note, erstwhile I got to Miami, it was truly hard for maine to acceptable into the civilization due to the fact that I was the Mexican kid betwixt this daze of cultures of Puerto Ricans, Colombians and Venezuelans that had reggaeton civilization done their veins. But I was ne'er acrophobic to beryllium myself. I’ve ne'er been embarrassed of who I americium and wherever I travel from.

I retrieve erstwhile I started moving with artists similar Christian Nodal, those archetypal albums were afloat done successful mariachi, and we brought mariachi to the younger generations. It’s ever been my idiosyncratic extremity to bring each those genres backmost to the newer procreation truthful that they don’t get mislaid successful translation.

The Latin Grammys person received immoderate disapproval successful years anterior for their exclusion of música Mexicana successful the large categories — yet you’re idiosyncratic who’s been astatine the forefront of this grant amusement arsenic the astir nominated individual. How bash you reconcile those two?

One of the main reasons wherefore artists don’t get nominated is due to the fact that they don’t registry themselves. Most of those artists are autarkic artists and they don’t cognize the process of getting nominated for a Grammy. Most artists deliberation it conscionable happens overnight.

The statement has to registry the product. The creator has to beryllium a voting subordinate of the Latin Recording Academy. It’s a full process. It’s astir educating them due to the fact that 90% of them are autarkic artists. They tally their ain labels, which is besides a large messiness whenever it comes to paying retired royalties. Being autarkic is chill for the artist, but it’s not chill for the radical that enactment with the creator due to the fact that you person to trust connected them to wage retired royalties connected time, oregon wage retired immoderate is owed to the writer oregon the producer.

Now that I’ve been much involved, you’re starting to spot artists [get recognized]. Grupo Frontera won a Latin Grammy past year. Carin León won an American Grammy past year, too.

You person your ain label, Borderkid Records. Why was it important for you to make thing of your own?

I privation to enactment acts that are starting off. My statement is different. I’ve ever said that I don’t motion radical to the label. I thatch them however to beryllium their ain maestro owners. For example, I got immoderate kids that are portion of my publishing company, but I don’t motion them arsenic publishing. I don’t bargain from them. I effort to amended them and thatch them however to gain wealth arsenic songwriters, however to support [their work].

I bash co-own with the writer a tiny information of immoderate publishing they have, but I don’t bash it similar the mode 99% of the artists retired determination motion radical off, oregon statement motion radical off. At the extremity of the day, I’m a creator, truthful I effort to enactment myself successful those shoes and dainty radical the mode I wanted to beryllium treated erstwhile I started retired my career.

You bring up being a creator, but are determination different reasons wherefore you purpose for fairness?

I’ve seen truthful galore radical get ripped disconnected and truthful galore radical that are not expected to beryllium getting affluent disconnected of talented people. It makes you overthink — what’s the intent of doing euphony oregon doing each this originative stuff? The creator is successful the country 24/7 astir of the time. Sometimes the ones that marque the slightest magnitude of wealth are the writers.

If you don’t person a bully song, you don’t person a hit, you don’t person a circuit and you don’t person sponsors. You person thing without a bully song. And [many successful this industry] inactive effort to rip disconnected the writers. I’m inactive warring for my rights. It’s important for writers to respect themselves and recognize the concern and to not motion disconnected their publishing rights to radical that are not doing the work.

 In an interrogation with Grupo Frontera, they referred to you arsenic their Rick Rubin. What are your thoughts proceeding that comparison?

That’s a large sanction to beryllium compared to, but I consciousness similar Rick Rubin has a imaginativeness and whenever I enactment with an artist, I effort to pb them to wherever I deliberation they’re expected to beryllium going successful their careers.

Most of the clip the creator volition perceive to my advice. With Grupo Frontera, they’re 1 of the fewer artists that is ace just successful the crippled — if they don’t constitute their song, they don’t get immoderate publishing connected that. For songwriters, it’s important for you to find that creator that respects you. Because they person a batch of respect for maine and that’s thing that I admit a batch and the crushed wherefore they’re my No. 1 priority. They spot my gut instinct. That speaks loudly of the creator that they’re successful determination for the close reasons, and I’ll proceed to beryllium determination for them arsenic agelong arsenic they request me.

If you could spell backmost to the commencement of your career, what would you archer your younger self?

This past Christmas I was looking astatine aged footage videos of myself being a kid — ‘cause I wasn’t the kid that played with Nintendos oregon soccer. I’ve ever been with my guitar since I was 8, 7 years old, penning songs 24/7. I deliberation backmost and I [realize] I ne'er had a program B. What I would archer that kid is to support doing it, everything’s going to beryllium worthy it.

One of the videos I was looking astatine was of the archetypal clip I participated successful a endowment show, erstwhile I was successful 5th people and I played “Samba Pa Ti” by Carlos Santana. Fast guardant to this past November, I played with Carlos Santana astatine the Latin Grammys. Life is brainsick and for maine it was 1 of the astir peculiar moments successful my vocation arsenic a instrumentalist oregon shaper oregon writer. You tin conscionable look astatine my look passim the full show and I’m conscionable smiling from receptor to ear.

Music has brought maine a batch of enjoyment and restitution with a clump of things. I’m not a idiosyncratic who looks to the sides. I ne'er envy anybody. I don’t comparison myself to anybody. The lone idiosyncratic I comparison myself to is my younger self. I’m trying to bash worldly present to provender my ain psyche and bash projects similar Carlos Santana’s caller album. I’m trying to bash much euphony for my soul. That’s the full intent of 2026. Just similar doing worldly that the 15- oregon 10-year-old Edgar would imagination of doing and support on, support connected dreaming.