RIAA REPORTS DOUBLE DIGIT MID-YEAR GROWTH FOR U.S. LATIN MUSIC
2022 First Half Revenues Up 23% – View Data in English + Spanish
Heating up celebrations during Hispanic Heritage Month, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) today published new revenue data for U.S. Latin music, which outpaced overall U.S. tallies and grew its share to a record high at 6.6% of total revenue.
RIAA Chief Operating Officer Michele Ballantyne expands on the success saying, “Latin music continues to flourish with 23% growth over the first half of 2022, outpacing overall recorded music revenues and reaching an all-time high in share. Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti has been the most listened to album released this year across all genres – that is the power of Latin music to reach and connect with fans universally! The dynamic creative partnerships between Latin artists and their label teams drive incredible results year after year.”
“U.S. Latin revenue rose to more than half a billion dollars during the first half of 2022,” continues RIAA Senior Vice President, Research and Economics, Josh Friedlander. “Once again, streaming remains king in the Latin segment of the U.S. market, driving a remarkable 97% of total revenues. Both of the largest streaming categories – paid subscriptions and on-demand ad-supported streaming – as well as CDs and the rejuvenated vinyl format, grew for Latin music over this period.”
The report highlights ad-supported on-demand streams from services like YouTube, Vevo, and the free version of Spotify, which increased 39% to $112 million. That trajectory builds on last year’s initial recovery from the impact of Covid-19 reflected in 2020’s tallies.
As the newly launched Billboard Español revealed earlier this morning, “2022 already demonstrates how Latin music will be a continuing force to be reckoned with in the United States (and beyond).”
RIAA Research Manager Matt Bass concludes, “capping off our mid-year reporting, this continued U.S. Latin music growth amplifies the already strong overall results covered in our whole market report issued last month.” Read here.
Across the broader recorded music revenue landscape, 2022 reflects continued growth year over year. These data points paint a clear picture that listeners are invested in music across genre and language.
