Country gold

Composer-singer Zezé Di Camargo has become the newest millionaire in Brazilian music and in a very short time. Together with Luciano he performs a new breed of country music using keyboards and technology. He has adopted a pop-romantic style and has been able to reach a younger and more urban audience. But life has been hard while he juggles writing, touring, and recording.

Bruce Gilman

People interested in knowing which Brazilian composers receive the greatest royalties for their compositions customarily refer to Roberto Carlos, Tom (Antônio Carlos) Jobim, and Caetano Veloso as the "Três Grandes" Three Great Ones. At the Escritório Central de Arrecadação de Direitos (ECAD), the entity in charge of distributing payment to artists, these composer/musicians continually rotate the number one position, but they never move out of the top ten. Their compositions are the ones most often heard on Brazilian radio and TV, in bars, and in the live performances of myriad artists. Six years ago, a fourth name was added: Zezé Di Camargo.

Mirosmar José de Camargo is a young man from Goiás. Brazilians who know Zezé Di Camargo know him from his work as a singer in the duo Zezé Di Camargo & Luciano. Few know that prior to forming that duo, Zezé had written several hits for sertaneja super stars Leandro and Leonardo, his friends since childhood, or that his name is the fourth great of ECAD. Moreover, who would guess that he surpasses his rivals Roberto, Jobim, and Caetano every time he releases a new disc?

This happened in 1993 with the third release by Zezé Di Camargo & Luciano. At that time the composer jumped from ECAD's sixth to the first position due to the success of the tune "Saudade Bandida" (Desperate Longing). Reaching the first position on ECAD's list once or twice in an artist's life is quite an accomplishment. However, even transitory artists like lambada star Beto Barbosa have been in first place a fair number of times. Remaining among the top ten for several years is arduous. For that, it is necessary to have scores of hits at numerous times performed by various artists.

The success of Zezé Di Camargo is impressive in view of its rapidity. Zezé is the youngest of ECAD's Great Ones but gained success quickly for two reasons. First, he started at a time when there was an enormous interest in sertaneja (country music), supplying music for successful singers like Leandro & Leonardo; and next, he invested in pagode, a type of samba made popular in Rio's Zona Norte. Zezé's pagode music has been recorded by Raça Negra, one of the top groups of the genre.

Zezé has dividends coming from more than 130 compositions recorded not only by the duo with brother Luciano, but also from a slew of other artists. Among the hits written by Zezé and recorded by other sertaneja duos are "Foge de Mim" (Escape From Me) by Chitãozinho & Xororó and "Gostoso Sentimento" (Good Feeling) by Leandro & Leonardo. Last year alone he profited over $350,000 net in royalties according to the calculations of Manoel Pinto, general director of Peermusic, the firm that collects the royalties for Zezé.

To achieve his extensive repertoire of both romantic and sentimental songs, Zezé has adopted an intimate ritual. He composes only during the early hours of morning, sitting always at the center of his spacious living room in his secluded São Paulo condominium, accompanied by his tape recorder, a six-string guitar, and a note pad. His source of inspiration continues to be man's illusion of love, its unfolding treachery, frustration, and madness. Zezé knows that the public will listen to words they can relate to, and he makes music for people to enjoy.

In addition to Zezé's income as a composer, his sertanejo duo with brother Luciano, Zezé Di Camargo & Luciano, sells more than one million copies every time they release a disc. According to Luiz André Calainho, director of marketing for Sony Music, the duo's label, the first four albums sold 5.2 million copies. The recent disc containing the hit "Pão de Mel" sold 1.2 million copies in one month. But the enormous sum of money accumulated by the duo is only partially explained by the astronomical quantity of recordings they sell. They perform almost two hundred shows a year.

In fact, the strongest source of the duo's income is not the collection of royalties from Zezé's compositions, not the sales from recordings (The duo's agreement with Sony gives them 12% of the retail price for each unit sold.), but from their performances all over the country. They receive close to $40,000 per show (about $33,000 net). After 150 shows the brothers earn approximately $5 million.

At recent shows in Bauru (São Paulo) and Muriaé (Minas Gerais), Zezé & Luciano performed outdoors in a rain that failed to deter an unbelievable crowd. In São Paulo 25,000 people attended, in Minas more than 10,000. All of their performances are attended by battalions of hysterical female fans; everyone sings, raises their arms, screams desperately for one wave or a look from one of the brothers. In little more than a one hour show, female fans have thrown wrist watches, stuffed animals, panties among other alluring articles, photos, and letters that run the gamut from the naïve to the erotic on stage . One card written by a beautiful girl and left with the receptionist at their hotel in Bauru read, "Luciano, I want your wild love. I am sure that only you can give me pleasure." They receive many such letters; however, both brothers are happily married. And although they are very cordial with the fans, they do not become involved with them. Luciano, in fact, has been married only a short time, and contrary to his brother, is adverse to the social obligations of recording stars. He goes to few parties and is content living in Moóca, a neighborhood of São Paulo, with his wife Mariana (sister of Leandro & Leonardo).

At a festa junina in the city of Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Zezé & Luciano were scheduled to perform in a soccer field. Rain had converted the field into a muddy bog. Not only did the sky conspire against the sertanejo duo, but there was only one electrical generator available. This generator was unable to power and sustain the 160 thousand watt stage lighting, the spot lights, and the sound system that was brought by the band. At best it was able to provide only very dim lighting. Despite the problems, minutes after midnight the two stepped onto a semi-dark stage, started their show, and were drowned in an applause uncommon for people drenched by the rain. Transforming a situation that in the hands of lesser artists would have been a tragedy, the duo sang their hits for two hours and were applauded unsparingly.

Episodes like Diamantina bring to mind the frustration and disappointment that rocker Rita Lee caused her fans when she refused to perform during a big storm last year and also reveal the duo's determination to follow through unequivocally with their objective of becoming the best. With almost 200 performances anticipated this year and 15,000 miles traveled a month, the brothers are committed to promoting their latest self-titled disc which arrived in the stores with pre-sales of one million copies. Roberto Augusto, president of Sony, the duo's recording company said, "We have bet that Zezé's power to create success will break Xuxa's 3.2 million mark."

Zezé has been very excited about the sold-out shows and actually prefers live shows to being confined in the studio. Plus the brothers realize that continuing in this manner allows them to compete in the market place side by side with the two best selling sertaneja groups Chitãozinho & Xororó and Leandro & Leonardo.

The trajectory for Zezé Di Camargo & Luciano was launched five years ago when they came to the fore performing a type of sertaneja "upgraded" by keyboards and technology, very different from the music of Tonico & Tinoco or Pena Branca & Xavantinho (see News From Brazil December '95). Zezé realized that the "upgrade" was going to be a target for criticism, but is cognizant that he is in reality performing MPB (Brazilian Popular Music).

The objective of abandoning a style saturated with characteristics typical of sertaneja and adopting more of a pop-romantic style was to reach a younger and more urban audience. They wanted those who listen to Skank (the reggae band from Minas Gerais) to also be listening to Zezé Di Camargo & Luciano. In the battle to conquer and hold new audiences the brothers concur that they have to maintain their disciplined and sacrificing routine, one that is only surpassed by Elba Ramalho and her always sold out agenda of shows.

Behind the scenes of their perpetual tours are more than 30 people: eight band members, three back-up vocalists, a conductor, the technical crew, a secretary, an agent, the contractor, and a security staff. For tours within 500 miles, the troupe travels in a Marcopolo Geração 5 bus complete with sleeping facilities. The bus is the most comfortable in the country and the type coveted by stars like Xuxa, and Chitãozinho & Xororó among others. In 1995 the band bus traveled a distance equal to driving four and a half times around the world. For greater distances, travel is by commercial plane.

With all their money, the two don't have an easy life. The road has taken its toll. Besides the obligatory tight pants country performers are expected to wear, their extremely Spartan agenda has cost Zezé an inflamed vocal chord. And stress from being on the road constantly affects his ability to reach the higher notes. The uninterrupted schedule causes Luciano to gain weight and suffer from insomnia.

The sacrifices, however, are not only theirs. People who are directly associated with the shows have said that they find it hard to appreciate the bosses singing when they hear the same songs night after night. Their security guards amuse themselves by trading the duo's tapes for tapes of rock and soul musicians. Zezé and Luciano are reluctant to admit it, but even they have found it challenging to continue rehearsing and performing the same repertoire enthusiastically.

On the road, Zezé watches the news compulsively and reads more than one newspaper and magazine on a plane. He continually comments on the economy, on politics, and on social problems and cannot imagine himself singing heart throbbing country music ten years from now. His political and societal concerns are intensifying, and Zezé has started bringing these concerns into his lyrics. Zezé regards this almost as a duty, a debt to Brazil. Misery and poverty, for example, are the themes of "Bandido com Razão" (Justified Bandit), a dramatic moment in their shows when images of abandoned children and children sniffing glue in the streets of São Paulo are shown on a big screen. Any time Zezé sees a child in the streets, he gives them whatever money he has in his pockets.

One of Zezé's last political missions was performing at election rallies for the governor of Minas Gerais, 36 presentations in two months side by side with the candidate Eduardo Azeredo. Zezé Di Camargo & Luciano were also used as a weapon by the ex-mayor of Belo Horizonte in an effort to become well known in the interior. The candidate started with a 35% point disadvantage in the surveys but finished the race by winning with more than a 10% advantage. The overturn was attributed in great part to the shows performed at the political rallies by the duo.

Zezé & Luciano attracted almost 70 thousand people to the event. Hélio Costa, the candidate who felt the election slipping away from him, reacted by hiring both Chitãozinho & Xororó and Leandro and Leonardo. The election turned out to be more of a victory for country singers in tight pants than for the politicians. What politicians want from the two is easy to understand; nevertheless, Zezé is happy that he is in a position to aid only the politicians that he supports.

When Zezé is able to relax, he travels to his huge ranch, É o Amor, in the Aruanã region of Goiás where he raises cattle and thoroughbred horses. The ranch was named after the tune "É o Amor" (It's Love) that propelled their first album and which is still the composition written by Zezé that is most often recorded by other artists including Ray Conniff and the Mexican group La Mafia. It is at É o Amor that Zezé jet skis on the artificial lake he had constructed and plays soccer in the well-equipped mini-soccer stadium named Franciscão after Zezé's father who hates the sport.

Without the responsibilities of a poet, Luciano dedicates his leisure time to activities less introspective or philanthropic. He collects and races remote control cars and drives his own recklessly, creating a constant source of dispute between the brothers. He has always been a rebel. At 23 years old, ten years younger than his brother, Luciano lives in the shadow of Zezé. When Luciano joined Zezé in 1991, he became one of the rare Brazilian artists who surpassed the one million mark for sales with his first recording. Consequently, he has lived a very easy life since the end of his adolescence, but realizes that Zezé had to struggle for over twenty years and has opened the doors for him.

Juggling writing, touring, and recording has made Zezé Di Camargo the newest millionaire in Brazilian music. His residuals after deductions and only as a composer exceed $250,000 annually according to Peermusic of Brazil's Manoel Pinto. That figure corresponds to approximately 1% of all money that is collected for music royalties in Brazil. ECAD does not supply the royalty figures that it collects, but admits that Roberto Carlos, Zezé Di Camargo, and Tom Jobim are more or less on the same level with Caetano Veloso a little lower on the list.

Jobim once stated that he wasn't sure whether or not he was receiving $250,000 a year in residuals. He thought that some composers could be earning that much, but that if they were Chico Buarque and Caetano Veloso would not have to continue performing live shows. Apparently, the composer from the backlands of Goiás does not share this opinion.

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Gauging the hits

The system used by ECAD to calculate and confirm what music is played in Brazil is called "public diffusion." It attempts to gauge not only what is listened to on the radio and TV, but also in bars, small clubs, hotels, night clubs, and restaurants. In order to make these tabulations there are several offices with autonomous agents spread throughout Brazil's capitals. The agents get a commission for the information they collect. According to the ECAD office in Rio de Janeiro, there are more than 1100 agents working for the system of royalties between the northernmost and southernmost points of Brazil. This is not a lot of agents when you consider the number of establishments that have to be checked.

In São Paulo alone, there are 45 top-of-the-line bars and restaurants that are known for presenting live music. The numbers collected by ECAD must be absurdly below the reality. To account for establishments that provide ambient background music for people who are waiting or sitting in a bar would be impossible. Thus, the information that "La Barca" was played 159 times a month cannot be taken as a rigid verification, not even as a close approximation. The figure shows only what ECAD agents accounted for.

ECAD's service could be improved a lot, and musicians do complain periodically about their residuals. However, it is an illusion to imagine that one day it will be possible to document all music being played everywhere in Brazil at all times. A feat like that would necessitate an ECAD representative being permanently on duty from Sunday to Sunday in every bar and club in the country. Nevertheless, the service that ECAD provides is crucial data for the musicians who depend on these services to earn their money.

One play on FM radio pays the composer about 15 cents. For TV there is no fixed price for music, but there are direct agreements between the broadcasting stations and ECAD. Globo, which has a near monopoly of audience, and SBT, the TV station owned by Sílvio Santos, are together paying $550,000 monthly to ECAD. With records and CDs the criteria varies. A singer may receive 5% to 15% over the album price. The composer has the right to 8.4% over the album price divided by the other composers who contributed compositions to the recording. To earn more, a majority of composers have preferred to sing their own compositions; Jobim was a case in point. For night clubs, the price paid to ECAD varies according to how many people attend the particular club on a nightly basis. Large clubs pay large sums; a small bar many times is not even called upon to enter their share.

Even though there are so few ECAD agents, wherever they go they inevitably hear the music of Roberto Carlos, Jobim, Caetano Veloso, or Zezé Di Camargo being played. In December 1992, for instance, it was discovered that the music played live most often in bars and restaurants was "La Barca", a classic bolero that came back to the charts with 159 plays a month due to the recording made by Mexican artist Luis Miguel. Next came "Coração Está em Pedaços" (Heart in Pieces) by Zezé Di Camargo. The eighth through tenth positions were taken by scientist-sambista Paulo Vanzolini's "Ronda", "As Rosas Não Falam" (Roses Don't Talk) by the great Cartola, and Jobim's "Garota de Ipanema" (The Girl from Ipanema) all standards of Brazilian popular music.

Tom Jobim started his career in the 1950s and still maintains a posthumous position in the race because of his monumental production of great music which includes songs that will never be replaced in any musician's repertoire. It is primarily from this accomplishment that Jobim extracted the largest portion of his royalties.

Roberto Carlos, called the king by his fans, started his career at the beginning of the 1960s. He releases a record every year and always sells over one million copies. His songs are played on the radio more frequently than any other Brazilian artist. Besides, other singers have the habit of recording his hits (see News from Brazil cover story on January '96).

Caetano got started at the end of 1960s. Besides composing his own music, Caetano is the artist whose name stands out most in the discography of singers like Maria Bethânia and Gal Costa. The Baiano singer-composer may not be able to beat Jobim or Roberto, but his name occupies a considerable space on the list of composers whose songs are played most often on both the radio and in night clubs. "Sampa" (affectionate name for São Paulo), for example, continues to be an absolute hit in the bars of São Paulo.

Bruce Gilman plays cuíca for Mocidade Independente Los Angeles, received his MA from California Institute of the Arts, and teaches English and ESL in Long Beach, California.