Latin Music Outpaces All US Genres Over Five Years, Luminate Says

Latin music has grown faster than any other genre in the United States over the past five years. Rob Jonas, chief executive of Luminate, Billboard's data partner, set out the figures in ‘By The Numbers: The State of Spanish Language Music Worldwide’ at Billboard Latin Music Week. Billboard

Luminate has measured music consumption for more than three decades, although the Luminate name itself dates back five years. The organisation is independent, with no record label, publishing arm or streaming service. It works with more than 700 verified streaming and retail sources across 60 countries and holds more than 300 million artist and songwriter identifications.

Latin is now the fifth-largest genre in the US. Roughly one in 12 audio streams in the country is a Latin track, and Latin audio streams are up about 3% so far in 2026. R&B/hip-hop sits at No. 1, followed by rock at No. 2, pop at No. 3 and country at No. 4. English-language music accounts for about 87% of US streaming, a new low.

The depth is growing. Across the US top 500 artists, Latin acts rose from 23 in 2020 to 55 in 2026. In the 251 to 500 band alone, the count moved from 13 to 37. The very top is tighter, with seven Latin artists in the US top 100 this year, compared with 11 in 2023. February brought a peak, when Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance delivered Latin music’s biggest streaming week on record.

Jonas also addressed artificial intelligence, the software that can generate or alter vocals, music and video. The leading AI-assisted or AI-generated Latin song had logged nearly 34 million streams through September 2026. Every other track on Luminate’s AI list had passed 14 million streams, with about three-quarters of those plays coming from outside the US. Among US respondents, 54% of musicians felt positive about generative AI tools, compared with 35% of non-musicians, and 18% of musicians already use AI to edit or remix music, three times the rate for non-musicians.

Globally, streaming was up 10% in the first half of 2026, while Spanish-language listening climbed to nearly one in 10 streams, according to Luminate’s 2026 midyear report. Luminate Jonas was joined in the session by artists Lyanno and Maria Gracia.

What makes this stand out is the shape of the growth. More Latin artists are reaching audiences large enough to register nationally, even as fewer hold places in the top 100. For listeners, that points to a wider field, with new names arriving below the headliners and a larger share of plays coming in Spanish.