The US Latin music market grew 24% in 2022, just 3% below the all-time high from 2005 according to the RIAA, the American recorded music industry association. Total revenues of $1.1 Bn represented an all-time high share of overall US recorded music revenues of 6.9%, up from 5.9% in 2021.
Revenues from streaming formats were more than $1 Bn, growing 25% to $1.06 Bn, and making up 97% of Latin music revenues. Paid subscriptions were once again the most important growth driver, contributing 71% of streaming revenues and growing faster than any other digital format, up 29% to $758 million. The number of overall US paid subscriptions reached a record of 92 million in 2022 (figure is not specific to Latin music). Ad-supported on-demand streams (from services like YouTube, Vevo, and the free version of Spotify) grew 24% compared to the prior year, to $230 million. This was the second year of double-digit growth for the category after the broader advertising slowdown due to COVID-19 in 2020. Compared with overall US music revenues, this ad-supported category has a significantly greater share at 21% of total Latin music revenues compared to the general music market at 11% overall.
Revenues from digital and customized radio services (such as Pandora, SiriusXM, and internet radio) decreased 5% to $73 million, making up 7% of streaming revenues. Permanent downloads of Latin music only made 1% of revenues in 2022 and fell 15% versus the year prior to $11.7 million.
Although still only contributing a small share of revenue, both CD and vinyl formats grew significantly in 2022. CD revenues were up 60% to $3.1 million, and vinyl albums grew 67% to $9.1 million. Vinyl accounted for a little less than 1% of Latin music revenues in the US.
The full report can be downloaded in English here and in Spanish here.
