In 2023, Spanish-language music dominated playlists in Spain in both the digital market (music platforms) and the analogue market (radio and television). It already accounts for 65% of listeners on digital platforms, with an increase of more than two points compared to 2022, according to data obtained from studies carried out by the Sociedad de Artistas Intérpretes o Ejecutantes AIE*. This year’s figures confirm that this type of music continues to enjoy very good health and that the upward trend already observed in the previous analysis continues.

A very positive result if we also take into account that the total number of songs in our language uploaded to digital platforms does not reach 40% of all the tracks played on them. Just the opposite of what happens with Anglo-Saxon music: although the number of English songs played on the platforms is greater in quantity (almost 42%), they are around 26% in terms of listeners.

This phenomenon is part of a global trend, as reflected in Luminate’s  Year-End Music Report  2023. The report analysed the 10,000 most played songs in the world and found that the representation of songs in English had dropped by 3.8%, a percentage that was transferred to songs sung in Spanish. As a result, Spanish is now the second most listened to language in the world as far as songs are concerned.

Music, especially urban music, has become an important means of disseminating and strengthening Spanish, according to the study El boom de la música urbana latina y la expansión del español a nivel global, by the Fundación and the University of Nebrija. It is therefore not surprising that interest in this type of music also reaches non-Spanish-speaking groups. This is confirmed by Luminate’s 2023 consumer research carried out in the United States, in which 24% of those surveyed said they consumed music in Spanish, when Hispanics only account for 19% of the population. Migratory movements, cultural changes and the expansion of streaming music have made it attractive worldwide.

Despacito, by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, opened the way for urban music with reggaeton at the forefront, and now the Latin world is diversifying with rhythms that, at first, were thought to be more of a minority. Among them, the regional Mexican music genre stood out in 2023. Songs such as Ella baila sola, by Eslabón Armado and Peso Pluma, or Según quién, by Maluma and Carin León, became hits on platforms and social networks. In the United States, according to the aforementioned Year-End Music Report study by Luminate, this music sub-genre grew by 60%, making it the big trend of 2023.

Rosalía and Karol G lead 65% of listeners in Spain

Back in Spain, according to AIE data, regional Mexican music has increased in listeners compared to 2022, but not as much as in the United States. Puerto Rican artists, led by Bad Bunny, and Colombian artists, led by Karol G, continue to be the favourites of Spanish listeners. However, the number of Mexican songs with more than one million listens on the platforms has increased by 69% in the last 5 years.

The clear reflection of this success on Spanish radios and platforms are the concerts. During 2023, important Latin artists such as Karol G (she had 4 sold out shows at the Bernabéu), Luis Miguel or Duki have toured Spain with great success. In addition, the number of Latin festivals is growing steadily with events such as Vive Latino, Boombastic or Reggaeton Beach Festival.

And this phenomenon seems unstoppable if we take into account that musical trends in our country tend to follow in the footsteps of the United States. According to the latest data from the Latin Music Revenue Mid-Year 2024 report by the RIAA, the American association that represents most of the record labels in the USA, Latin music revenues in the United States increased by 7.3% year-on-year during the first half of 2024, reaching 685.5 million dollars and setting a new record.

In addition to the increase in the presence of Latin artists in the most played songs, in Spain there has also been an increase of one point compared to last year in the number of songs performed exclusively by Spaniards. Singers such as Quevedo, Rosalía, Saiko, Aitana, Rels B and Morad have managed to top the charts week after week. This phenomenon generates a synergy between Latin American and Spanish artists, materialised in collaborations that boost their careers in both markets.

In the last five years, with the take-off of the urban genre in Spain, collaborations between Latinos and Spaniards on the platforms have remained constant, reaching 15% of the market share. For example, in 2023, almost 11% of these collaborations reached more than one million plays, with hits such as Bizarrap and Quevedo’s session or Aitana and Nicki Nicole’s Formentera standing out. At this point it should be remembered that, although urban genres predominate in terms of listeners, music sung in Spanish includes other types of music, such as pop and indie.

This is how Rosalía celebrated her 32nd birthday in Paris.