From Bad Bunny to Peso Pluma, from Iñigo Quintero to Karol G, Latin music has been one of the recording industry’s biggest breakout success stories of the past few years.
A large part of its momentum is coming from the US recorded music market, the world’s largest, where Latin music has seen several incredible years.
In 2022, it surpassed a billion dollars in US recorded music revenue for the first time, raking in $1.09 billion, a 23.8% YoY increase, and taking a nearly 8% share of the music streaming market, according to data from the RIAA.
The momentum carried on into 2023, with Latin music revenues jumping 15% YoY in the US in H1 2023, to $627 million. Latin’s share of overall US recorded music revenues hit a record high of 7.5% in this period, the RIAA reported.
What’s more, Latin music fans appear to offer more of an opportunity for monetization than fans focused on other types of music. In a report released earlier this year, US market monitor Luminate found that superfans of Latin music spend on average 30% more on music consumption than other superfans, and 120% more than an average non-superfan.
Compared to other superfans, Latin music die-hards were 21% more likely to have purchased t-shirts, stickers or other merch from musicians in the prior year.
The incredible success of this segment of the music world is attracting attention from all over the world, not least from South Korea, where K-pop giant HYBE has jumped into the ring. Last month, HYBE acquired Latin label Exile Music, giving it the foundation it needs to launch Mexico-headquartered HYBE Latin America.
All of which is not to suggest that Latin music has appeared on the scene out of nowhere; indeed, it’s been a part of the global music environment for decades (think Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine, or Enrique Iglesias), but its proliferation and rising popularity in recent years is unprecedented.
To highlight just how much of a shift this represents, Spotify recently dug into its own data and published a set of eye-opening statistics.
Since the streaming service began its expansion into Latin America’s Spanish-speaking countries in 2013, it has seen its audience for Latin music grow by 986%, Spotify said in a blog post published on Monday (December 18).
Consumption of Latin music has “grown steadily” at an average annual pace of 10%, while Latin songs in Spotify’s chart of the global 100 most-streamed tracks have increased by 28% annually, on average.
In 2023, more than one in five of the Top 100 tracks on the platform were Latin, and of the 16 Latin songs that ever reached No. 1 globally, eight were from this year.
Back in 2013, there were no Latin songs in Spotify’s global top 100.
Notably, Spotify’s data shows that Spanish-language music has become more popular in Spanish-speaking countries as well. In Argentina, for example, the share of Spanish-language streamed music rose from 25% in 2013 to 94% today (see below).
“The music scene has experienced a revolution in recent years, where Latin rhythms from reggaeton to música Mexicana are dictating the global pulse,” said Mia Nygren, General Manager of Spotify in Latin America.
Spotify stresses that it sees itself, and streaming music in general, as being a key driver of this growth.
“At Spotify, more than simply witnesses to this phenomenon, we have been facilitators; we’ve seen constant and permanent growth of the industry in the last decade. It is an honor to be the bridge that unites these talented artists with global audiences,” Nygren said.
“The music scene has experienced a revolution in recent years, where Latin rhythms from reggaeton to música Mexicana are dictating the global pulse.”
Mia Nygren, Spotify
The Spotify blog post also included testimonials from a number of Latin artists, including Argentinian singer and songwriter Yami Safdie, who described Spotify as being “absolutely essential for anyone starting out” in the music business.
“It’s been a key player in my journey, unlocking opportunities from being featured on playlists to recommendations that introduce my music to potential fans. I’m so thankful for this; I don’t think I could have come this far without Spotify’s platform.”
“Spotify has democratized music in every sense,” Louisiana Latin pop duo Ha*Ash said in the Spotify blog post.
“Today an artist can create a song at home and freely release it for the whole world to listen to. Similarly, the audience has the freedom to decide whether they like it or not, without any intermediary. It’s democratic for both musicians and audiences alike.”
What’s more, the rise of Latin music seems to be propelling – or at least engaging in – a sea change in the industry, with many Latin stars eschewing traditional labels in favor of building their own businesses, or at least insisting on more favorable contracts.
There may be no better recent example of this than Bad Bunny, by some measures the biggest artist of 2022, who broke music streaming and sales records, and sold out stadiums, without signing to a major label.
“Today an artist can create a song at home and freely release it for the whole world to listen to. Similarly, the audience has the freedom to decide whether they like it or not, without any intermediary. It’s democratic for both musicians and audiences alike.”
Ha*Ash
“For many years now, Latin artists have been paving the way for deals that bring them more control, transparency, and better economics,” Alejandra Olea, Managing Director, Americas, at France-headquartered Believe told MBW in a recent interview.
“Looking at the global picture, beyond Spanish-speaking artists, there truly is something bigger at play here. We do see, all around the world, more and more artists able to reach massive levels of success, not only in their own markets, but internationally too, without the need for major label support and traditional label deals.”
For its part, Spotify sees the opportunity for further expansion in the Latin music world.
In Latin America, “there is still more talent to be discovered, and we are excited to help them go from local stages to regional to finally the global scene,” Nygren said.
“It’s noteworthy that 21% of all Spotify global users are in Latin America, highlighting the significant impact and potential of this market.”Music Business Worldwide
