Thanks to streaming services like YouTube and Spotify, Latin music has been gaining popularity across the U.S. According to data from YouTube, the top three songs of 2018 with the most views were all Spanish-language artists, with Ozuna at 10 billion views and J Balvin at 11 billion views. Latin music also saw a rise on Spotify, where it accounted for 9.4% of all music listened to, outpacing both country and EDM. According to Billboard, Latin music’s revenue grew 54% year over year in 2017.
The data that Latin music has overtaken country music in popularity, taken from a report from BuzzAngle, may come as a surprise to many listeners in the U.S., as country music albums are usually among the five most consumed albums in the U.S. This year, however, Latin music took its place.
The surge of Latin music into the U.S. mainstream was echoed in the release of the lineup for the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, one of the largest music festivals in the world. The festival touts what can be seen as an unprecedented roster of Latin artists, including J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Rosalía, Tucanes de Tijuana, Javiera Mena, Tomasa del Real, and Ocho Ojos.
