Latin music continues to break records in the country. Between 2020 and 2022, this genre grew 55.3% surpassing the four dominant musical styles among Americans: rock (22.3%), pop (20.6%), country music (19.2%) and R&B / hip-hop (12.2%).
Live Nation's Vice President of Global Touring, Hans Schafer, told Billboard that 2022 was "the best year for Latin music" and the numbers back up the expert's opinion. Last year, Latin music had the highest percentage growth in the industry over any other genre (rising from 5.39% in 2021 to 6.33% in 2022):
I have the impression that every year we talk about the Latin boom and the truth is that we are not going 'slowly', (...) I would say that this is the best year for Latin music because we see it in streaming, in the amount of tickets we sell, in the gross revenue from those shows, and it's not just about Bad Bunny.
45 Latin songs on the Billboard Hot 100
Last year, 45 Latin songs made it on Billboard's Hot 100 -the list of the 100 best-selling singles in the U.S. This number is up considerably compared to the 25 that made the list in 2021.
Of the 45 songs, 22 of the songs on the Hot 100 were from Bad Bunny's album Un Verano Sin Ti. The album also became the second all-Spanish-language album to rank #1 and #2 on the Billboard 200 for more than six months. In addition, Bad Bunny's two tours grossed a total of $373.5 million from 65 concerts. This gave the Puerto Rican the top spot on Billboard's year-end Top Tours chart.
Newer artists in the urban genre also catapulted in the U.S. last year. Colombian reggaeton singer Feid sold out tickets for the 14 dates of his first tour in October in just 24 hours. Rosalía has made $28.1 million on her three-continent tour so far this year.
10 Latin artists who have topped the charts on Spotify
On the music platform Spotify, 10 Latin artists were among the top 50 most streamed artists worldwide, among them:
- Bad Bunny is in first place with 18.3 billion plays. The Puerto Rican was the most listened-to artist in the world for the third consecutive year.
- Anitta went #1 on Spotify's Top 50-Global in March with her single Envolver, becoming the first Brazilian artist to do so.
- In March, Argentina's Paulo Londra was second place on the Top 50-Global list with his song Plan A.
- In July, Argentine producer Bizarrap and Spanish artist Quevedo took the top spot in the Spotify Global ranking with their smash hit Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52.
- Karol G was ranked among the top 10 most listened-to female artists on the platform.
Latin music around the globe
Bruno Del Granado, director of global touring for Creative Artists Agency, said that the U.S. remains the top market for Latin music "because it is the seal of approval" as it helps launch the careers of Latin artists in other parts of the world. He said that the country "gives you prestige, but you also want China, India and Latin America. Everything is part of this great puzzle, and all artists, those who are intelligent, always see the world as their market."
Regarding Latin music around the globe, Del Granado said that in his early days in the music industry, "the U.S. market generated probably 70% of our income and the international market represented 30%. Now it is the opposite: 30% U.S., 70% international."
Maykol Sanchez, director of artists and label partnerships, LatAm and US Latin at Spotify agrees with Del Granado in reference to the importance of the US for the Latin music market. Sanchez commented that the success in the U.S. is a reflection of the genre's growing popularity in other non-Latino markets:
Latin America and the United States continue to drive consumption and share, but we see it becoming more global with bigger artists like Rosalia, Karol G and Bad Bunny being consumed in continents like Africa.
Carlos Abreu, music agent at United Talent Agency said that Latin music "more than ever, has become a global business," and has a special influence in the European market:
Europe is embracing Latin music faster than ever before. I have seen the change in real-time. Especially when booking European tours and festivals. In the past, it was necessary to educate, to convince. Five or six years ago we were trying to convince promoters or buyers that these artists were mainstream. We are very happy that the world [por fin] has caught up and we are glad to say: 'I told you so'.
