The music industry is setting record numbers at a dizzying pace! In just the first three months of 2023, the total number of streams surpassed 1 trillion – a full month faster than the same milestone was reached in 2022. Stream counts are soaring, up a massive 30.8% from last year.
K-pop and Latin music are driving this growth. More and more Americans are embracing music in languages other than English. A whopping 69% enjoy artists from outside the U.S., and 40% listen to non-English songs.
Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Italian, German and Arabic music rank as the most popular. But it’s K-pop groups like BTS, Blackpink, and TWICE and Latin stars like Bad Bunny and Rosalia leading the charge.
Spanish-language music now accounts for 3.6% more of the top 10,000 most streamed songs compared to just two years ago. Meanwhile, English-language music’s share has dropped 4.2%!
Bad Bunny’s “Un Verano Sin Ti” album remains in the top 10 best-selling albums a whole year later. And when just looking at physical and digital album sales, K-pop dominates with six of the top 10 spots.
That’s no surprise since K-pop fans are the most enthusiastic buyers. They’re 69% more likely to purchase vinyl and 46% more likely to get a CD compared to the average music listener. In fact, one in four K-pop fans bought a cassette in the last year alone.
The rise of K-pop and Latin pop is reshaping the music industry. Record numbers and new genres are defining this new global music marketplace.
