José María Escriña: Transparency, Honesty, and Professionalism

 The words above best describe this successful business executive. José María Escriña, born in Spain and living in Miami, is the Peermusic’s Vice President for Latin America Operations. He began his career in the music industry as the lead vocalist and guitar player of a Spanish band called Insanity Wave. Now, Escriña works with the most important independent publishing company of the world. Thanks to my relationship with Peermusic Miami, I was able to arrange a quick Skype meeting with him. Jose María Escriña is an extremely busy person, which is why I am so grateful he was able to grant me some minutes of his valuable time.

The interview was focused on his experience in negotiation and negotiating techniques. Few topics were discussed in the interview with José María Escriña, such as the use of the objective criteria during a negotiation, the Best Alternative To A Negotiation Agreement (BATNA) used when he faces a negotiation, and “tricks” when it comes to bargaining.

When we started to talk about objective criteria he began stating a fantastic thought: “a negotiation is completely lost if you don’t go prepared to it.” In other words, it is mandatory to gather all the information about the topic, and to have all this information prepared to use it when is time for negotiation. The knowledge Escriña has gained with the experience has helped him to apply objective arguments. This skill has had a positive impact in his negotiations.

Jose María Escriña with Pete Townshed of The Who

Jose María Escriña referred to the BATNA by bringing up music publishing deals. Escriña makes sure he doesn’t loose anything when he goes to a publishing agreement with a composer. The BATNA comes to play when the other party is not willing to cooperate after proposing different alternatives to reach an agreement.  Usually the most common BATNA used by these music executives is to have in mind other composer with similar potential, status, and aspirations that could be interested in closing a deal with the music publishing company.
Close to the end of the interview, we talked about “Dirty Tricks” during negotiations. We made clear that it referred to negotiation tactics used by executives but he strongly pointed again the importance of transparency and honesty. According to Jose María, the majority of the music business professionals know each other. Sooner or later, a person who is negotiating using literally “dirty tricks,” will be caught and it probably will bring his or her career down. He advised to be very bold and know when your opponent could be using these “dirty tricks.” Escriña talked about his “dirty tricks” by addressing a motto from his home country that says “Cada maestrillo con su librillo” in English it means, “each master has his own small book of tricks.” In real life, most of these tactics he has used have come from experience, and it has helped him to achieve positive outcomes in negotiations.

Jose María Escriña is a perfect example of a distinguished leader. His strong belief in honesty and friendship values during negotiations reflects his success in the music industry. Being one of the key Peermusic executives for Latin American market is a proof of his success.