Expectation ran high as EMI featured wet ridges, a song from the Campillo brothers about immigration. It was set to release as a single and quickly climbed to number one on Los 40 Principales, beginning December 1, 1990. Roxette’s It Must Have Been Love led briefly, but the Campillos surged to the top as Come Close and Kiss Me vied for position. The group toured Latin America for the first time, visiting Mexico, Chile, and Peru. In Spain, wet ridges slang did not translate smoothly at the time due to the country’s low immigration levels, yet the song still found a receptive audience.
At that period EMI shared publishing rights with a separate publisher. The PRISA Group initially operated under the name Nuesa, later Nova. Nacho Campillo describes the process used to reach the top of the chart and explains that there were two payment pathways for performances on Los 40 Principales. Some publishers handed over editorial rights; others signed contracts while the band refused, and the publisher then allocated twenty percent to Nova. Payments could be made in cash or in kind, sometimes totaling around one million pesetas. Nacho and Javier confirm that the agreements were bundled, with multinational companies sometimes compensating the band in a package that included all members. The same arrangement often included free performances where the company funded the entire show, musicians included, acting as a bargaining chip to secure the number one spot and the release of a Red Disc. This realization came later, not when the publishing contract was signed. The band recalls reading a contract about songs like Welcome by Miguel Ríos, with a 20 or 25 percent share to Nova and PRISA. The concept of securing the top spot via the publishing quota was clear, according to a journalist who spoke with Joaquin Guzman on Rockola FM. Guzman had worked as an announcer for PRISA for over ten years.
Numbers show a split where Nova retained 20 percent, EMI held 30 percent, and Tam Tam Go! owned 50 percent, distributed among Nacho at 30 percent, Javier at 12.5 percent, and Rafa at 12.5 percent. From the outset, Campillo recalls, the record label asserted these allocations. The band fought back, reading contracts carefully and weighing new terms over time, feeling that some parties placed heavy constraints on them. In live shows, half of the 50 percent share went to radio and broadcast platforms.
Get Nacho Campillo accounts. This admission reveals that the band lost substantial money with the 50 percent rights structure and that the potential losses could be in the millions of pesetas, a notion Javier prefers not to dwell on. Nacho reflects on his first solo album, noting that contractual reviews began then. He moved on to MCA at Universal, choosing not to editorialize with them and instead publishing his catalog independently. The Campillos describe how the first term’s rights could hardly be retrieved, and they indicate that a large lawsuit would be necessary to recover them. The idea that Tam Tam Go! would pursue such action is shared by both brothers.
In 2016, BMG acquired Nova’s music catalogs from PRISA Radio. A review of data in the SGAE database, alongside records from Sony Music Publishing Spain and BMG Forty Spain, suggests that Sony Music currently holds the publishing rights for wet ridges. Nacho notes that the team has maintained their approach, consulting lawyers to safeguard interests. They recount how some deals lacked clear terms and how this affected ownership of masters and related rights. Lifetime contracts have been restricted, and editorial agreements now typically span ten or five years. The Campillos acknowledge that some deals were not illegal at the time, but legal action may determine illegality now. They state they are pursuing a legal path to recover editorial rights and anticipate involvement from other groups as cases proceed.
There is a perception that certain clauses within editorial contracts are unconstitutional. The Campillos are pursuing litigation and have retained a lawyer to help reclaim editorial control. They emphasize ongoing legal work and the possibility of broader action among peers who seek to redraw rights terms.
In 1989, Paco Martín sold the Twins to DRO for 150 million pesetas, with the last 50 being forgiven. The catalog eventually landed with Warner Music International in 1993, bringing the Spanish group edited under Warner’s umbrella. EMI disappeared in 2011, and Tam Tam Go! eventually came under the Parlophone Label Group within Warner’s structure since 2013. Argentine DJ Kun, also known as Facundo Domínguez, released a Spanish-language adaptation in 2000 titled No Money (Crossing the River) on the Crazy Torment compilation with GASA, a Warner-owned label purchased in 1993 as part of the DRO Group. This adaptation aimed for a broad Latin American audience, especially within Mexico.
Nacho Campillo, in a version of Tam Tam Go!, received half of the royalties once more. DJ Kun is said to own around ten percent as a translator, though the Argentine artist provides alternate figures: a 60/40 split in negotiations with Warner via Chappell, while the Campillos note that Wet Rid Ridge only received ten percent. The original title was reportedly altered during discussions, with crossing the river proposed but ultimately kept as No Money. Negotiations for reuniting the band led to renewed signings and touring, and similar patterns repeated with Glopes Bajos and Radio Futura. The friction over rights persisted as the group shifted away from DRO East/West, citing pressure to produce more versions as the impetus for their exit.
By 2022, 32 years after its radio premiere, Wet Ridges was re-recorded by Tam Tam Go!, with Mikel Izal joining on the album produced by Mitik Records and overseen by Aurelio Morata, bassist of Los Rebeldes and a key figure in Jaime Urrutia’s career. With the new recording, the phonographic rights rest with Tam Tam Go! and Mitik, though the band notes multiple earlier renditions. One notable live performance took place at the Teatro Romano in Mérida in September 2008, part of a program Warner planned to air, featuring a fiery bolero set.
The overarching takeaway is that Warner owns Tam Tam Go! recordings and Sony controls the publishing side. Given past constraints and limited information, the group agreed to proceed as best as possible. If decisions had occurred in earlier years, a different path might have been chosen. Nacho Campillo and Javier both acknowledge how difficult it can be to operate under consistent rejection, especially when the odds look unfriendly—yet the drive to keep Wet Ridges alive remains.