Repping Ozuna and Luis Fonsi, Lawyer Angela N. Martinez, Esq. Is Named One Of The ‘Leading Ladies Of Entertainment’

Entertainment attorney Angela “Angie” Martinez, Esq., has made an impact in her career by doing things her own way. Case in point: When Martinez went to law school, her mom bought her suits as a graduation gift – which she promptly traded in for track suits. 

“You have this cookie-cutter image of what a lawyer looks like, and I’m not that person,” Martinez tells Pollstar. “I feel like I’m able to relate more to artists and their management when I don’t look like a stuffy lawyer that you don’t know if they’re going to steal from you or not. I’m really grateful that I’ve done it on my terms and that 22 years in I’m still going strong.” 

The Latin Recording Academy is honoring Martinez as one of the four 2020 Leading Ladies of Entertainment along with recording artist, actress, film producer and social activist Selena Gomez; singer, co-founder of Colombian trio ChocQuibTown and producer Gloria “Goyo” Martínez; and broadcast journalist, news anchor and author María Elena Salinas.

As part of the Latin Grammy Week celebrations, the initiative “honors and recognizes professional and socially conscious women within the arts and entertainment fields who have made significant contributions, inspiring the next generation of female leaders.” 

The 2020 Leading Ladies of Entertainment will be celebrated in a virtual ceremony Nov. 17, which will be hosted by singer/songwriter and actress Erika Ender, who was one of the 2017 Leading Ladies of Entertainment. The event will raise funds for the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation, with a portion of proceeds going toward a scholarship for a young woman interested in studying music.

“Every year, not only am I amazed at the group selected to receive the Leading Ladies of Entertainment distinction, but also proud to celebrate and honor such distinguished leaders who have forged paths for so many,” said Gabriel Abaroa Jr., Latin Recording Academy President/CEO. “These four successful women are passionate, driven and extraordinarily inspirational. We are grateful for the positive impact they have on our communities and the example they set for the next generation of leaders, demonstrating that anything is possible.”

For Angie Martinez, she says the honor “made my year – especially this year.” She notes she was pretty surprised to be recognized because “I’m the troubleshooter, I’m the person that’s behind the ‘behind the scenes.’ So many times the proverbial crap doesn’t hit the fan because I’m in the background resolving things. … I’m like a ghost. You don’t know that I’m there, but I’m there.”   

Her clients include chart-topping artists, songwriters and producers from different subgenres in the Latin market including Ozuna (who is up for eight Latin Grammys), Mike Bahía (who is nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best New Artist), Camilo (who is nominated for six awards including Album of the Year), Ricardo Montaner (who co-produced Camilo’s Por Primera Vez album) Luis Fonsi, Mau y Ricky, and Darell.

She notes that she’s represented artists from outside the Latin market. Being that she’s based in Miami and speaks Spanish “and a lot of clients just would rather be spoken to in their language … it just happens to be that right now, the bulk of the artists I represent are Latin. … I don’t discriminate – anybody who wants to work with me, please call me!” 

Along with industry accolades – which include being named one of Billboard’s Top Music Lawyers for the second year in a row and honored as part of the Latin Alternative Music Conference’s inaugural “Wonder Women of Latin Music” – Martinez’s career highlights include getting the chance to work with artists “that I started from the beginning with them.” One example is her former client Pitbull, whom she first met when he was in high school as one of her sister’s drama students. 

She says, “At that point, he had cornrows and was very thin and wore baggy pants. And just to see how the artist grew – I worked with him for 10 years – just to see the development musically, as a man, as a person, as a citizen, that’s one of my big accomplishments.”   

She adds, “I put my blood, sweat and tears into what I do, and I love some of these clients like they’re family, and I fight for them in the same way. Honestly, as a lawyer, you always look at the worst case scenario. If you’re able to plug those holes in the contract or in the situation, then those worst case scenarios won’t happen.”

Martinez initially wanted to be a criminal attorney until she attended the American Bar Association Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries as a law student. “I heard all these phenomenal speakers and they just seemed really passionate about what they were doing,” she says. “And the added bonus is that they get paid to do this. And I said, forget criminal law – even though there are a couple of criminals in our business. I love what I do.” 

With touring on pause during COVID, it’s still been a productive time for her artists who have been recording a lot more, while her songwriters are writing more songs, as well as her mixers and producers working more. Martinez has been busy negotiating various recording agreements and publishing agreements, along with livestream concert agreements. 

“We did a McDonald’s livestream for Mau y Ricky a couple of months back,” she says. “We also did one for Camilo Echeverri. We did a Spectrum livestream for Ozuna. He also did a Corona livestream in South America. … I’ve seen a lot of marketing targeted to social media and TikTok now. So I’ve been doing a lot of TikTok deals … just trying to make music as viral as possible.”

During her two decades working in the music business, Martinez has observed more of a push for globalization in music “especially as it pertains to the Latin market, Spanglish music is becoming more common.” She adds, “Digital is still such a new phenomenon in Latin America. Many people don’t realize that it’s been less than 10 years since iTunes launched in Latin America. Smartphones are becoming more accessible there. There is only a minority of the population that actually has credit cards (which are needed for music subscriptions) for which reason YouTube views for Latin artists are so high. 

“I think the accessibility of technology and accompanying analytics has given labels and artists a new perspective of ensuring that they’re more inclusive of the Spanish language fan to ensure increased sales and social media following and bigger tours.”

She adds, “There’s a lot more female artists now. I represent an artist by the name of Greeicy that’s out of Colombia and she’s doing really well. And I also represent Latin female songwriters like Claudia Brant. Between those two plus the Karol Gs and the Becky Gs of the world, there’s more and more interest in signing female artists. Ultimately, it gives you an additional perspective to life. And I think it gives little girls someone to look up to. So I think it’s really important that there be a concentration on that. I think it’s a slow moving trend, but it’s definitely trending up.”

Martinez has also seen her field become more inclusive.“When I was coming up as an entertainment attorney, there weren’t a lot of females to look up to,” she says. “There’s more and more now. I think we definitely have tricks up our sleeves [like] the way we think through a problem. Instead of languishing on the problem, we look to find solutions quickly. So that’s been my modus operandi throughout my career, and it’s served me and my clients well.”

She adds, ”I think it’s a more level playing field, whereas before women had to try a little bit harder just to be in the room … so the fact that there’s women in the room now making decisions and there’s a focus on opportunities for women, I think that’s important.”