The rise of World Music: Young listeners in the US are falling for non-English speaking artists

The times sure are a-changin’… The days when global music artists had to sing in English to sell records internationally appear to be far behind us, if the latest streaming data is anything to go by.

Listeners on music streaming platforms are increasingly embracing music in languages other than English, according to the 2023 Luminate Year-End Music Report.

The genre known as “World Music,” once a niche label reserved for (Western) music snobs, is gaining popularity with younger listeners in the United States, the biggest music streaming market in the world.

It's become a catch-all term that encompasses every genre that's not considered Latin music or English-language music, like K-Pop, J-Pop and Afrobeats.

Luminate’s report found that English-language streaming content in the US was down 4.8% in 2023, with interest growing in Spanish- and Japanese-language music in particular.

The changes are accelerating as the music marketplace becomes more international, with more people around the world listening to music on streaming platforms.

Last year, the global music industry surpassed 4 trillion streams, marking a new single-year record, with global streams up 34% from 2022.

Unsurprisingly, Spanish is the second-most popular language in music streaming, buoyed by the wildly popular Latin genre with its blockbuster artists including Bad Bunny and Karol G.

In 2023, Spanish-language content saw a 3.8% uptick on music streaming platforms in the US.

Regional Mexican music – which encompasses mariachi, banda, corridos, norteño, sierreño and other styles – was one of the year’s biggest breakout genres, with a 60 percent increase in plays.

Mexican artists Peso Pluma, Eslabon Armado, Junior H and Fuerza Regida each hit more than 1 billion