Feminine power It's not (only) closeness or empathy. This is the leadership without clichés of 5 bosses who have broken the "concrete ceiling"
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In these liquid times, Blanca Salcedo's career is a long-term career. Of those that are few and, if anything, they are more abundant in previous generations (she is 61 years old). It is already known that staying in the same company for three decades is not a 'trend' now. Her career is also out of the norm because
female talent
has been very invisible and she, for a year, has been a general director of
Sony Music Spain
. A boss, wow.
His story is a bit of a 'movie', because he studied Geography and History and music was nothing more than a youthful hobby, like that of so many. Before finishing his degree, and faced with the unwanted expectation of devoting himself to teaching, he left Madrid and headed to Lanzarote, where he set up a tourism business, "but saving the day from the churrero is not cool at all." He left with a partner who broke up and came back. It was 1991 and she had to start over: "I spoke two languages and, although I had a good resume, I looked for a job as
a secretary
because, being a girl, it didn't occur to me that I could apply for another position. Rather than glass ceiling, I would talk about
concrete roof!
"
And then comes the movie scene: one of those CVs ended up at
Sony
and the match was instantaneous: "People were in jeans, when I had the idea that I would have to work in
heels
. I saw a poster of the Immaculate Fools, a group that I loved... It was an environment that I associated with my leisure, more than with a job. I found my place," he remembers.
The transformation of the music industry
More than 30 years have passed since all that. Until she got there, she has overcome the obstacles inherent to the business world and others because she is a woman, but she has also seen how the music industry has transformed in such a radical way that no job in the sector offered guarantees. We're talking about those crazy times when, almost overnight, we stopped buying vinyl and CDs because the internet revolutionized everything. In the middle, of course,
piracy
, the top mantas with their copied albums and all that messing around with the digital canon that put citizens on a war footing.
The record companies and artists who defended their bread became
villains
and Blanca has bitter memories of that. And some other resentment too. "They criticized us because they said that a CD cost two pesetas, but what about everything behind it? I recognize that the industry also committed abuses, but suddenly we were the bad guys in the movie. The media didn't support us either and now they [ahem] charge subscriptions," he maintains. "It is one thing for a sector to transform and another for your job to be
stolen
."
Another consequence of easy copies was the leak of an
Estopa
album before its release: "The disgust was incredible because you are responsible to your artists. I experienced it really badly," he admits.
Discretion is not synonymous with lack of leadership
Since joining Sony Music Spain Blanca Salcedo has held different positions. She has lived through the time of selling many records with Céline Dion,
Ricky Martin
,
Oasis
,
Mariah Carey, Gloria Stefan
... They were years of a lot of work and also passion and fun. Then, things began to get 'serious': "When you reach management positions you see that men are still there. Things have been corrected a little, but there is still a lot of work to do to make this industry egalitarian."
It certainly hasn't gone bad for her. "It is a privilege to work for a company that appoints a woman and my age as CEO." She defines herself as "moving forward" and about her rise to the top of Sony Spain she is honest: "I have
horrible anecdotes
for being a woman, but there is nothing that I have not achieved for being one. I do realize that I have worked much harder." than other men to reach the same thing.
There are hardly any published interviews with Blanca Salcedo. She is a discreet woman who is very clear about her role, despite the fact that the showbiz disorients some: "It is possible that in the music industry, from being so much with the artists, we executives can believe we are stars, but
our role is in the shade
".
He recognizes that he now has the role of making
tough decisions
, if necessary, to make the numbers add up. "The company has to continue growing, like any other. We are not a charity," she says confidently.
How do you exercise your leadership? I only know one way to make decisions. I like leadership from principles and responsibility. I admit that I don't move well in the fluid world. When I make a decision regarding an artist, I don't do it all based on the business. The strategy of any company must be based on principles, knowing who we are and what our objectives are. Is having ambition and progress frowned upon? Have you felt it? Fortunately now I no longer have to justify myself and I have all the support of my teams. But in these 30 years in music I have sometimes thought about what I had done to deserve a position. I have suffered from imposter syndrome.
Do you act as a talent scout or is that something from movies? Of course that figure exists. The industry has changed, but precisely that has not. There are artists who do everything alone, but the normal thing is that they need a company and we have a department designed to find them. Now we analyze data, but they do not replace what happens in real life. Smell is still necessary.
What has been Sony's latest discovery that is being a hit? Well, Rosalía's, Rosalía's, although she is already an established star. Now she would say that she burns Bogotá. It is a phenomenon of which we are very proud. They have won the Ondas Award for Musical Phenomenon of the Year and have just won a Gold Record for 'Cowboys de la A3'. When I saw them the first time, you could already see them: the voice, the band... They are outstanding and they are working in everything: concerts, streaming and pull in Latin America. They have had very quick recognition. It's been incredible. Why, if an artist is popular, do we reduce his prestige? We tend to believe that if they don't listen to what we like, it's because people are stupid and everyone is wrong. My experience has taught me to understand when something happens and what causes that spark between artist and audience, to try to approach it without prejudice. Only in this way can we understand what happens and why a musical phenomenon arises.
sony