US trade body the RIAA has published its latest figures: a mid-year report on the US Latin music business. It reports that Latin recorded-music revenues grew by 13.5% to $232m in retail value (i.e. spending by listeners) in the first half of this year, with streaming accounting for 95% of those revenues. That means $220m, up 17% year-on-year. This double-digit growth sounds positive, but the caveat comes if you compare it to the overall US recorded-music market in the same period. The total market grew by 18% year-on-year, with streaming revenues up by 26% – so the Latin market is actually growing slower than the overall recorded-music industry in the US. Why? One reason is set out in the report: ad-supported on-demand streams from audio and video services (YouTube included) account for 32% of the Latin music market in the US, compared to 18% for the overall market. And those ad-supported revenues grew by just 4% to $44m in the first half of this year. However, RIAA boss Mitch Glazier stressed the positives. “Latin artists continue to claim growing representation on the mainstream charts and gain in critical recognition, as greater numbers of consumers are embracing Latin music and driving more consumer demand for it.”
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