Universal Music's Jesús López Named 2026 Honorary Academician in Spain
Jesús López, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Latin America & Iberian Peninsula, has been named a 2026 Honorary Academician by the Spanish Music Academy, according to Music Business Worldwide.
The Academy, known in Spanish as the Academia de la Música de España, gave the title for the first time this year. It went to 10 honorees in total.
López received his distinction at a ceremony at Madrid's Teatro Real on 6 November. Antonio Guisasola, treasurer of the Academy's board of directors, presented it to him. Guisasola is also president of AGEDI, a Spanish collecting society that gathers royalty payments for recordings, and of Promusicae, the trade body that represents recorded music companies in Spain.
The other nine inaugural honorees are Raphael, Ana Belén, María del Mar Bonet, Carmen Linares, Jordi Savall, "Berry" Navarro, Diego A. Manrique, Maryní Callejo and Teresa Catalán.
López's career at Universal has included several labels aimed at specific corners of the market. He created Culebra, an alternative rock label that the report describes as a cornerstone of the "Rock en Español" movement, the Spanish-language rock scene that grew across Spain and Latin America. Under his leadership, Universal also launched Machete Music, a label built around reggaeton, the Latin urban genre with Caribbean roots.
He also oversaw the growth of a talent services arm. Universal Music Latin America set up Global Talent Services (GTS) in 2007. In October 2024, GTS became a standalone division within Universal Music Group, with Narcís Rebollo as its CEO and President.
For readers outside the music business, the Honorary Academician title is a recognition from one of Spain's main music institutions, not a job or a contract. It sits alongside a list of names that spans pop, flamenco, early music and songwriting. The honour is the latest in a run of awards that mark the work of people who build the business behind the songs.
