K-pop, Latin Music Challenge English in US Streaming: Luminate

Highlights

• The English-language music share in the US streaming market continues to shrink as global genres gain ground.
• Latin music attained a new milestone in the US market, bolstered by record-breaking streaming momentum.
• K-pop retained its U.S. foothold, with BTS' comeback album helping fuel the genre's resilience.

The historic dominance of English-language music in the United States is slowly retreating as non-English genres continue to cement their commercial footprints. As per the first-quarter 2026 report from music analytics organization Luminate, the share of English-language music in the U.S. on-demand audio streams fell to 86%, down from 88.1% during the same period last year. This multiyear decline depicts a growing fundamental shift in American listening habits, bolstered mainly by sustained consumer preference for Latin and Korean-language music.

Latin Music Shatters the 'Niche' Label

Spanish-language music surfaced as the frontrunner of this shifting landscape, seizing a historic 9.5% of the US streaming market in the first quarter. This means about one in every ten streams in the country is now in Spanish.

The surge was anchored by Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, who ranked as the second most-streamed artist overall in the United States for the quarter. Notably, his February Super Bowl Halftime Show performance pushed the genre to an all-time weekly streaming record. Luminate’s data shows that casual monthly listenership for Latin music climbed from 41% in early 2024 to 56% in early 2026.

“That increase means more than half of U.S. listeners now count Latin as a genre they listen to casually,” Luminate noted in the report. “Latin music has fully shattered its 'niche' status in the U.S.”

K-Pop Holds Its Ground

Simultaneously, Korean-language music held a 1.1% share of the US streaming market through the first quarter of 2026. While the figure depicts a stabilization after reaching the summit at 1.9% in 2025, the genre has almost doubled its baseline footprint since 2024, showcasing its sustained staying power amongst American consumers.

As indicated by the report, BTS, the genre’s premier act, remains the chief driver of its steady market share. After the completion of their mandatory South Korean military service, the members reunited for the album and global tour earlier this year, which instantly drove a fresh surge in streams.

“The industry is more global than ever, which has allowed international artists to reach a level of global recognition historically reserved for English-speaking acts,” said Luminate in its report. These findings act as an early overview of shifting music consumption patterns. A more comprehensive picture of industry performance is expected on July 15, when the organization releases its midyear report.