More music, more listeners, no problem.
The global music industry recorded 4.8 trillion streams in 2024, a new single-year record, according to Luminate’s 2024 year-end report. This is a 14% increase from the previous record set in 2023.
If you’re streaming a lot more music in 2024, especially a lot of female pop performers, you’re not alone.
In the United States, on-demand audio streams grew at a rate of 6.4%, reaching a total of 1.4 trillion.
Contemporary music is driving growth. The overwhelming majority (79.5%) of American plays come from songs released after 2010. Songs released between 2020 and 2024 accounted for nearly half of all streams.
And Taylor Swift, the most streamed songwriter globally in 2024, is only partly to blame.
By mid-2024, Luminate determined that Latin music would become the fastest-growing streaming genre in the U.S. (up 15.1% from summer 2023), followed by pop, rock, and country.
A lot can change in half a year. Because now pop is the leader, followed by rock and Latin.
“We’ve seen some interesting trends within the U.S.,” said Jaime Marconette, Luminate’s Vice President of Music Insights and Industry Relations.
“Latin grew the fastest among U.S. streaming genres in the first half of the year, driven by growth in genre streaming share. However, changes in streaming activity in the second half saw pop take over the top spot. Female solo artists led this surge in pop consumption. That’s because music streams from female solo artists accounted for nearly two-thirds of all audio streams among the top 100 U.S. pop artists.”
This change is being driven by six women who are dominating American pop music.
1. Taylor Swift with 12.8 billion streams
2. Billie Eilish with $4.46 billion
3. Sabrina Carpenter worth $3.71 billion
4. Ariana Grande with $3.12 billion
5. Olivia Rodrigo ($2.76 billion)
6. $2.49 billion Chapel Roan
This is also partially reflected in the top 10 global streaming songs.
1. “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone
2. “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
3. “Birds of a Father” by Billie Eilish
4. “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims
5. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’, ‘Die with a Smile’
6. FloyyMenor, “Gata Only”
7. Shaboozey, “Tipsy”
8. Hozier, “So Sweet”
9. Taylor Swift, “Cruel Summer”
10. Sabrina Carpenter, “Please Please Please”
Even as pop replaces Latin music as the fastest-growing streaming genre in the U.S., the music’s popularity remains undiminished. By 2024, regional Mexican music will surpass Latin pop to become the largest Latin subgenre in the United States.
“Latin continues to grow in both volume and share of total audio streaming in the U.S. in 2024,” Marconette said. “If you look at Latin subgenre activity, the Mexican region has been dominant in terms of growth.”
Regional Mexican music, an umbrella term encompassing mariachi, banda, corrido, norteño, siereño and other genres, has become a global phenomenon over the past few years, topping music charts and reaching new audiences beyond borders.
In 2024, this genre reached 28.57 billion streams, followed by Latin pop with 24.09 billion.
Pop rules, but when it comes to overall music streaming in the U.S. as in 2023, R&B and hip-hop still lead the way, accounting for more than one in four streams in the US.
2024: Rap and R&B accounted for 341.63 billion on-demand audio streams, followed by rock at 234.22 billion, pop at 165.49 billion, country at 117.58 billion and Latin at 113.02 billion.
