Latin Music Revenue Hits Peak of $627 Million in First Half of 2023; Spanish Is Second Most Li

 Posted on July 9, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  900 words  |  Aldo Pusey

Luminate's Latin Music Report also found that Hispanic listeners are turning to Whatsapp to communicate and discover new music trends.

Latin music revenue is growing at an unprecedented pace in the United States, rising in consumption by 15% compared to the first half of 2022. Not only that, Spanish is now the second most listened-to language in music across the U.S. accounting for an estimated 23% of listeners.

These landmarks follow a breakthrough year for Latin music revenue in 2022 when the genre hit an all-time high of $1.1 billion. In 2023, the genre is on track for another record-breaking year as the RIAA reported a new mid-year high of $627 million.

New data by Luminate also suggests the uptick was struck thanks to buzzy newcomers from subgenres including regional Mexican, a fast-evolving landscape that logged an increase of 56% in this year alone. Spanish hitmakers like Shakira and Karol G have already dipped their toes in the market which has collected a total of 14.3 billion on-demand streams through the first 34 weeks of 2023.

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Luminate’s report also made the surprising discovery that 73% of Hispanic listeners use WhatsApp to discover new music and communicate 265% more than the general population. That fact seems to hold up on a commercial scale as the latest single by streaming juggernaut Bad Bunny was announced on the platform’s newly-established “channels” features.

Latin music is also credited as the 5th largest major genre in the U.S. while R&B rules as No. 1, followed by hip-hop, pop, rock and country. Also worth noting: Latin music listeners spend 120% more per month on music-related activities than other listeners and 58% of Latin fans report devoting more than half of their monthly music spend on live events.

Still, the main proponent of this growth, accounting for 98% of Latin music revenues, is streaming. Paid subscriptions hit a total of $431 million, totaling more than two-thirds of total revenues. Additional revenue from digital and customized radio services (Pandora, SiriusXM and internet radio services) grew 13% to $36 million — increasing greatly after experiencing a 5% dip in 2022 — to make up 6% of total Latin music revenue. Permanent downloads ($4.8 million) and physical formats ($4.7 million) were each less than 1% of total revenues, down 21% and 37% respectively during the first half of 2023.

“U.S. Latin music revenues reached an all-time high in 2022, and the growth has continued mid-year into 2023. This has been driven by both the vitality of classic hits and chart-topping new releases that have influenced broader culture and society,” said Rafael Fernandez, Jr., RIAA senior vice president of state public policy and industry relations.

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