The growing weight of Latinos in the US market is verified in the notoriety that the music awards in Spanish have gained in the northern country. Not only the space they won at this year’s Grammys, but the repercussion that the Latin American Music Awards had last week (from the Michelob Ultra Arena of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, broadcast by Telemundo), in the that Bad Bunny led the nominations with 10, closely followed by Jhay Cortez with 8; while J Balvin, Karol G and Rauw Alejandro received 7 each.
María Becerra (who also performed on stage at the Grammys) elected “New Artist of the Year”, and Nicki Nicole, were among those in attendance, along with Farruko, Luis Fonsi, Prince Royce, Reik, Black Eyed Peas, Caliber 50 , Jhay Cortez, Sofia Reyes and Ozuna, the top winner in 2021. A long list that proves that the moment of Latinos in music is not the result of a single author, but rather a wave that became a tsunami.
Income
The income of the Latin music in the United States soared in 2021, with a huge 35% increase to $886 million, the highest figure on record (without adjusting for inflation), according to a new report from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The number far outpaced the company’s overall revenue growth rate. recorded music, which increased 22%, proof that Latin singers and bands are gaining market share over other types of musical expressions.
“In a year in which Bad Bunny was the artist with the most reproductions in the world, stars like Becky G and Anitta released hit after hit, topping the charts,” said Michele Ballantyne, RIAA Chief Operating Officer. “Audiences flocked to shows powered by Latin musicians in stadiums and arenas as live performances resurfaced again, but rising to new heights,” added the director of the association that represents most of the record companies, and is responsible for the certification of record sales (physical and digital) in the United States.
In that sense, streaming represented 97% ($857 million) of revenue, and paid music subscriptions continue to be the main driver of Latin music revenue growth, rising 35% to $593 million in the US.
And ad-supported on-demand streams (from services like YouTube, Vevo, and the free version of Spotify) from Latin artists grew 46% compared to the previous yearto 187 million dollars.
Meanwhile, paid subscriptions to digital and personalized radio services (such as Pandora, SiriusXM and Internet radio services) account for the largest share of Latin music streaming revenue, growing 22% to $77 million.
Latin artists compensate on these platforms for the drop in advertising guidelines due to the pandemic in 2020: 2021 marked a strong growth in listeners (12% in all genres), with Latin artists putting the festive atmosphere that left behind the drama
And even though they only make up less than one percent of Latin music revenue, lThe physical formats were also recovered in 2021, as expected after the quarantine and the closure of record stores: they increased 71% to us$7.7 million, driven by increases in both vinyl (76% more to 5.8 million dollars) and CDs (up 44% to $2.0 million).
RIAA is proud to celebrate the cultural power and creative and commercial success of Latin music reflected in this report, and salutes the incredibly talented artists and record teams who gave us so much in 2021. regulator of music in the US market.
Live
Latin music not only wins North American listeners with reproductions. The main festivals in the northern hemisphere today have in their lineups the voices in spanish of the song, from Karol G to Nicki Nicole and María Becerra.
This was reflected last weekend in the return of “Coachella”, after two years of being suspended due to the pandemic. The festival that started on April 15 in Indio, California, and lasted until April 24, targeted the artist from Rosario for her opening night. “Thank you very much to all the people who are present. To those who don’t know me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. This is very important to me and thanks to the people from Argentina who are here as well. A round of applause for you”, Nicole celebrated in front of the audience of“ Coachella ”, who danced with the successes of her debut album“Part Of Me” and the feat with the Argentine rapper.
The festival counted about 20 Latin artists, including the also Argentine Nathy Peluso (who will be the star of the second day of Quilmes Rock on May 1 at Tecnopolis), Anitta and Pabllo Vittar, Omar Apollo, Ed Maverick, Jessie Reyez, and Karol G.
Carolina Giraldo Navarro, the real name of the Colombian reggaeton and Latin trap singer, made her entrance on stage with “Tusa” and “Bichotella”while dozens of blue wigs could be seen in the audience, with which fans accompanied Karol emulating her look, during her hour-long performance.
“Today is a day to toast, because dreams come true, because I am here sharing with you, because Latinos are the new voice,” he started applause Carol G, before introducing Dutch DJ and producer, Tiesto, who joined her on stage at Coachella for the performance of “Don’t Be Shy.” And then, the American Latina Becky G (Rebbeca Marie Gómez) appeared for the presentation of the female empowerment anthem “Mamiii”.
On the closure -extended- Karol danced and sang a medley of Latin musical hits of all time, from “La Bamba” by Ritchie Valens to Santana’s classic “Oye Como Va”, followed by “La Conga” by Gloria Estefan and ” Life Is A Carnival” by Celia Cruz. And then there were tributes to Ricky Martin with “Maria”; and the “Gasoline” of daddy yankee (The hero of reggeaton who retired a month ago and will now produce the new litter of young people, after a world tour that will bring him to Argentina in October).
A chronology of Latin music that broke new ground in the North American market. “Tonight I feel very happy and proud to represent my country and my Latino community around the world. And honor the Latin songs that were number one in the world but that were never played on this stage,” said the Colombian before closing with the hit of her countryman Shakira, “Hips Don’t Lie”; the “slowly” Luis Fonsi; and J Balvin’s “Mi Gente”, the hymns that consolidated the latest growth of Latin music in the world.
“We are making a revolution on our own terms and according to our own plans, without a hit single sung in English, which is doubly remarkable in the traditionally foreign language-phobic American music market.” Rosaliawhich announced last week a massive world tour in support of its successful album “Motomami”: it will include a total of 46 shows in 15 countries in Europe, North America (about 16 shows between Mexico and the United States) and Latin America (the August 25 I will perform at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires).
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by RN
