“Few parts of our industry have changed in the last decade as much as Latin music and few tell a more interesting story in our data,” were the opening remarks of Rob Jonas, CEO, Luminate, Billboard’s data partner, as part of his presentation By The Numbers: The State of Spanish Language Music Worldwide.
Jonas launched the biggest Latin music week yet, spotlighting chart-topping Latin artists and showcasing how Latin music has evolved from a regional powerhouse into a permanent force in mainstream consumption across the U.S. and around the world.
Though Luminate is a relatively new name — dating back five years — the company’s roots extend to a business that has measured music consumption for more than three decades.
“Our mission is really simple,” Jonas said. “We want to build the most accurate and objective data in entertainment and make it available to everyone who needs it.”
As an independent company with no record label, a publishing arm or streaming service, Luminate has become a trusted industry source measuring consumption and organizing metadata. With more than 700 verified streaming and retail sources across 60 countries, the company maintains the largest database, covering more than 300 millions artists and songwriter identification, Jonas added.
Turning to one of the industry’s most controversial topics, Jonas noted that AI was the subject of debate a year ago and today has become a production tool.
Early AI Impacts: According to Jonas, AI has become a consumer creation planform that has really starting to get momentum. He also highlighted some of the AI-assisted and AI-generated Latin songs this year through September 2026. “The leading track has nearly 34 million streams and every other track on this list has more than 14 million,” the CEO highlighted, with around three quarters of those streams coming from outside the U.S.
“AI music is already competing for the same listeners on the same platforms,” Jonas stressed. Ownership of those recordings, who gets paid, and if they should they count on the charts as well as human artists are some of the questions are decisions the industry must make, Jonas noted.
“54% of U.S. musicians feel positive about generative AI tools, compared to 35% of people who do not make music, and 18% already use AI to edit or remix music, three times the rate of none musicians,” explained Jonas, who also added that transparency for themselves and the listener is key. “AI will keep evolving and so will our detections.”
Vital Stats From The Latin Music Genre: In Jonas’s words, Latin is the fifth-largest genre in the United States, with roughly one in 12 audio streams in the U.S. being a Latin music track. “So far this year, Latin audio streams are up about 3%, slower than it has growing in the past because the whole market is slow, but Latin is still growing and closing the gap on Country, currently the No. 4 genre,” Jonas shares. R&B/Hip-Hop helms all genres in the U.S., while Rock comes second and Pop third.
Over the last five years the Latin genre has grown faster than any genre in the U.S. “Big cultural moments matter,” Jonas shares, highlighting how Bad Bunny’s Superbowl performance in February gave Latin music its biggest streaming week ever.
In terms of presence, as Jonas pointed out, in 2020, 13 Latin artists ranked between 251 and 500 among U.S. top artists lists, compared to the 37 Latin artists in 2026. “Across the whole top 500, Latin artist went from 23 in 2020 to 55 this year,” he adds, while a fewer in the very top, with seven in the top 100 compared to 11 in 2023.”
English-language music has fallen into a new low of around 87% of U.S. streaming, Jonas pointed out. He also emphasized that Spanish has matched its all-time high, meaning that close to one in 10 streams of the most popular songs in the U.S. are in Spanish-language. “This is no longer a niche, Latin music deserves mainstream marketing budgets,” Jonas added.
On a global level, Bad Bunny holds all the top five spots among the biggest Latin songs in the world — and “DtMF” takes the lead — with its top song taking 1.25 billion streams, according to Jonas. Stateside, “Latin listeners beat the average U.S. music fan at every single level, and nearly one in three Latin fans is a super fan.”
“A superfan does not just stream,” Jonas adds. “A superfan buys the vinyl, travels to the show and pays the premium experience.” He also underlined how Latin fans engage with music, “they share it, they post about it and they bring other people in.”
Jonas closed the presentation by noting that more Latin artists than ever are reaching the Top 500. “The foundation is deeper and healthier than it’s ever been,” he said. He also highlighted the casual fan as major growth opportunity. “Spanish language music is at its peak, and more than half American listeners listen to Latin every month,” Jonas pointed out.
In touring, Jonas said “Look at France, Germany, U.K, this year. When you plan a tour, plan the streaming and marketing around it, because the tours are only the start.”
Finally, Jonas underscores Latin fans’ willingness to pay. “They subscribe more, they buy it more, and more are the superfans, and that is a real opportunity for premium tiers, VIP experiences and direct-to fan merchandise.”
Latin music is deeper, broader and more loyal than ever before, he shared. “The next era certainly belongs to those who invents in the fans.”
Billboard’s Latin Music Week takes place in Miami Oct. 19-22 and brings together artists, creators, executives and fans for performances, panels, workshops, showcases and other events celebrating Latin music.
The week closes with this year’s Billboard Latin Music Awards, which will air live from the James L. Knight Center in Miami Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. ET on Telemundo and Peacock.
