Amid a slowdown in the growth of US recorded music revenues, Latin music remains a bright spot.
According to the latest mid-year report from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Latin music wholesale revenues hit $490.3 million in the first half of 2025, up 5.9% year-over-year.
That growth rate is more than six times as fast as overall wholesale revenues in the US, which grew 0.9% YoY to $5.59 billion in H1 2025, according to an earlier report from the RIAA.
In all, 98% of Latin music revenues came from streaming, with paid streaming accounting for $271.1 million, up 11.2% YoY. That compares to a growth rate of 6.3% YoY in paid subscription revenue for all genres in H1 2025.
Free (ad-supported) streaming of Latin music brought in $174.1 million, up 0.6% YoY. In the “other streaming” category, which combines payments for digital and customized radio services under statutory licenses, including SoundExchange distributions, revenue grew 0.5% YoY to $36.4 million.
“Latin music in the US continues to gain popularity and generate increased value thanks to the incredible artists whose music connects across language and geographical barriers with support from creative label partnerships,” said Matt Bass, VP of Research at the RIAA.
“At a mid-year high approaching half a billion dollars, Latin music continues to earn new listeners and invigorate existing fans. With streaming offering more access than ever to legacy voices and next generation icons defining today’s culture, Latin has become the second-fastest growing genre in America.”
“With streaming offering more access than ever to legacy voices and next generation icons defining today’s culture, Latin has become the second-fastest growing genre in America.”
Matt Bass, RIAA
In all, Latin music accounted for 8.8% of wholesale music revenues in H1 2025, and it marked the twelfth straight year that the genre’s revenues were up at mid-year, the RIAA said.
Though it was only ever a small part of Latin music sales in the US, physical revenues dropped a sharp 24.9%, with sales of vinyl leading the slump. The volume of Latin vinyl sold fell 22.2% YoY, while the wholesale dollar value fell 10.6% YoY to $3.9 million.
Revenue from synch rights also fell, down 2.7% YoY to $1.59 million.
The revenue numbers in the RIAA report aren’t directly comparable to those of previous years because as of 2025, the RIAA is reporting wholesale, rather than retail, recorded music revenues. The organization says this change was made to align its figures with the global figures from the IFPI, and to “highlight the real dollars that flow back into the creative ecosystem.”
RIAA says it plans to release wholesale data for the past 50 years, to make comparisons easier.
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