Posted on 01/16/2024 12:56:21 PM PST by nickcarraway
Music lovers in the US, the world’s biggest music streaming market, listened to more music in other languages than English in 2023, according to a new report.
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.
Spotify Wrapped 2023: World's most streamed artists and songs revealed
2023 proves a record-breaking triumph for female pop stars: Time for further progress?
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 streams last year, as the genre saw a meteoric rise in popularity.
English is still the top language for music globally, accounting for 54.9% of the top 10,000 global tracks in 2023. But other languages are gaining ground.
The top global languages in music streaming after English, according to the report, were Spanish (10%), Hindi (7%), Korean (2.4%) and Japanese (2.1%).
Gen Z and Millennials are looking abroad
The interest in international music mostly comes from younger listeners – the report found that 63% of Gen Z and 65% of Millennials agree they “listen to new music to experience new cultures and perspectives.”
That shows in the listening figures for popular non-English genres – 95% of J-Pop fans in the US said they were Gen Z. Multilingual music listeners were also more likely to use community-based social media, like Reddit and Discord.
Afrobeats, one of the fastest-growing music genres in the world, was up 26.2% last year. The report found it’s hugely popular in Europe – with Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the UK, France and Portugal leading global streams of the genre.
The international market for music streaming is expected to keep growing next year – with analysts estimating global revenues will hit a record €27.06 billion in 2024.
Because US pop music, like most US media these days SUX.
So they’re into Stevie Nicks and James Brown?
I love Nig Nog music from the 60 and 70s
I remember when ‘Sukiyaki’ came out about 1963. It was a great song. Nobody I knew understood a single word.
I don’t see the problem
I think what they’re not telling us is that the ones “falling for” this crap in the U.S. are the females. Always and forever.
My idea of World Music is Leonid and Friends, by many accounts the best tribute band in history. They began with Chicago, then Earth Wind and Fire. In the past couple years they’ve added Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Lighthouse, Tower of Power, Chaka Kahn and even The Carpenters.
Some of them barely speak english, het sing marvelously and they absolutely love America.
What? No Italian opera?
Gypsy is what I'm currently having fun with. Abut every word in that, but the word “gypsy,” is not understandable, and half the “gypsies” are not understandable. When you hit the notes, while heavily mumbling, it sounds just like her.
I actually prefer when my son plays stuff from anime in Japanese, no concerns about lyrics.
Hast du etwas Zeit für mich, dann singe ich ein Lied für dich...
J-Pop, K-Pop, and Euro-Pop aren’t really “world music,” are they?
Sort of like a lot of “folk music” isn’t really “folk music”?
Your input would be greatly appreciated.
Frankly, I’m turning to instrumental music nowadays.
There has *always* been a lot of good music out there.
There is a bassist from India, Mohini Dey, who we bassists have known as a true virtuoso for years; I for one like the blend of jazz and Indian.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbcW7nxcP3E
Here I was thinking the various genres were a collection of unintelligible gibberish, grunts, shrieks and wailing.
“Folk Music” has always reflected the culture, so it’s always changing. One way of looking at it is “folk” is music played *not* deliberately for professional fame and fortune.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.