The panel turned into a session of “everything you ever wanted to know about the music business but were afraid to ask.”

By Jhovanna Pumarol

“My name is Porfirio Pina and I am here to help you get your music listened to.” With this sentence the senior director of Broadcast Music Inc. began his presentation at the III Dominican Republic Global Film Festival in a room that was full of good vibes and lots of enthusiasm.

Porfirio Pina gave a brief introduction about his professional life revealing that, at his young age, he has already helped launch the career of such musicians as Nicolás Tovar and the groups Sandy and Papo and Los Ilegales, among others.

He talked about the part of the process that he considers the most tedious and terrifying for a songwriter: legal issues such as authors’ rights, agreements and placement of work and compositions.

As he spoke, you could hear a pin drop in the room. No one dared speak for fear of missing out on something Porfirio was saying. No one could believe that in a half-hour one could say so much. He talked about the essential elements for reaching the top: have a record label, register a piece of music and sell yourself. He then asked: “Any doubts?” In seconds, hands shot up all over the auditorium.

All the questions were based on personal experience that needed solutions. It is fair to say that Por firio, with charisma and honesty, answered many of the difficult questions. Minutes passed and no one noticed that everyone was talking amongst themselves, giving each other advice.

One question opened a debate and soon jokes were being told. For a few moments, people forgot about the questions and were chatting and getting to know each other; the barrier between the speaker and the audience disappeared and became an interchange between people seeking and people giving advice.

By way of increasing people’s confidence, Porfirio told the story of how he got into the music business. The moral of the anecdote was that things are not as easy as they look and that giving up is not an option for those who really want to be part of the music business world.

The most important bit of advice he had was the need to protect authors’ creations. He said that anything could happen to anyone at any time and therefore it was essential to register one’s work immediately.

Wrapping up the conversation, Porfirio put himself at the disposition of everyone in the room: “I can’t finance anyone’s films, but I am willing to help you. I respond to all calls and e-mails, so don’t ever worry about that.”

Everyone was happy when they left the hall because a huge weight had been lifted off their shoulders. They commented that there are very few people around like Porfirio Pina, a person capable of empathy and willing to help.

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