At the end of the summer, the Movistar Plus+ platform launched a channel of the same name, intended to replace #0 and revive the spirit of its predecessor, Canal +. Anyone who remembers this channel will remember the video clips from Del 40 al 1. The presence of music on television has changed significantly since then. Also the way to consume it. The songs are now listened to on cell phones and there are hardly any live programs anymore, although many talent shows are looking for new stars.
One of the hallmarks of Movistar Plus+ since its launch has been its musical content. And one of his first publications was a declaration of intent. Pop, a history of music and television, highlighted the careers of Spanish soloists, groups and bands in four episodes the development of the country’s music and recording industry. Its creator was Jorge Ortiz de Landázuri, executive producer of the platform and one of those responsible for the enormous presence of the music in its catalog. Then came Melodico, Greatest Hits and OST, in which Emilio Aragón, among many other formats, reviewed and performed the most important songs in the lives of his interviewees.
Belén Rueda and Emilio Aragón, in the show “BSO”.Movistar+
“Work on this editorial line began during the Canal+ era. It is part of the brand heritage. However, before we did it through video clips, and now with content that we know is consumed on social networks,” explains Ortiz de Landázuri on the phone, who remembers that the first major Movistar Plus+ broadcast was Late Motiv was, which was about direct music, among other things. It’s great bets.
Since November 6th last year, one of the most famous sections of Andreu Buenafuente’s Late Night has become its own program. Litus and Pablo Novoa, together with the rest of the Space band (also composed of Erika, Pirata, Mac and Coke), will welcome in each episode of El Dress Room three great musicians with different profiles to speak, improvise and their own versions to create on well-known topics. Vanesa Martín, José Mercé, Luz Casal, Rozalén, Tanxugueiras, La Húngara and Iván Ferreiro are some of the guests. Buenafuente, executive producer of the program, defines it as “a tribute to the power of songs and, above all, to the men and women who make them possible.” “We have found an intimate but exciting and powerful format.”
It will be another way to restore live performances. “Pop talked a little bit about this, about the progressive move away from music through television. This documentary series was the start of our bet and has been one of the most viewed content on the platform for a long time,” says the executive producer. Movistar Plus+ is already planning a new project for this season that will complete the Melodico and Greatest Hits trilogy. It will be an anthology that discusses different genres and sound eras in Spain and continues to build the emotional and social map of the country.
The melodies of the documentary genre
Charlie Arnaiz and Alberto Ortega are producing Bisbal, a recently released documentary about the singer through their company Dadá Films. They use this to create all sorts of formats, even video podcasts. However, his catalog only contains musical content within the documentary genre. Paying for the copyright of the songs makes these types of productions more expensive and often the networks and platforms do not bet on it, they explain in a video call. “Currently there is no budget available for a podcast to finance the payment of several songs by an artist to be played in a monographic space,” says Alberto Ortega. The company has experience in music rights management since Arnaiz comes from that world. “It’s something that requires many hours of work and negotiation in the pre-production phase,” they say, but on-demand television increasingly knows how to solve it better.
In the case of Bisbal, everything was simpler when it was recorded in collaboration with Universal Music Spain (with which Dadá and the platform already published the Raphaelismo series). The feature film deals with much more than just the music of the artist from Almeria. He tells his story in the days leading up to the concert that celebrated 20 years of his career in his hometown, in an intimate narrative directed by Alexis Morante, who has already analyzed artists such as Alejando Sanz, Camarón de la Isla and Heroes of Silence .
This special journey from Bisbal to Ithaca shows him behind the spotlight, in his role as father, son and friend. The founders of Dadá Films, responsible for audiovisual biographies of poets like Luis García Montero and novelists like Francisco Umbral, recognize that musicians have a special power over audiences. “The fan phenomenon that the singers have (and which has reached maximum power with Operación Triunfo) makes their relationship with their followers completely different,” emphasize the filmmakers.
David Bisbal during the promotion of the documentary film “Bisbal” at FesTVal in Vitoria. Carlos Alvarez (Getty Images)
Movistar Plus+ has found many opportunities for storytelling, especially in the documentary genre. “It can be an emotional portrait like that of Bisbal, a soap opera like that of Locomía or a biography like that of Raphael or Lola Flores,” says Ortiz de Landázuri.
“We want Spanish musicians to feel that Movistar Plus+ is their natural habitat, their home,” defends the executive producer, who has always experienced music in a special way. He is the brother of Enrique Bunbury and has his own experience in the industry, including as a video director for Héroes del Silencio and Los Planetas. “In addition, storytelling through music is a very direct way to get in touch with the viewer’s memories and emotions,” he defends.
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