Amazon Music: Latin America is only just beginning to tap into its global musical potential
Miami (USA), Oct 3 (EFE) –
Latin music still has ample room to continue growing globally, especially as streaming gains penetration in Latin America, Rocío Guerrero, Director of Music, Latin-Iberia at Amazon Music, told EFE, adding that she believes the phenomenon is still in its early stages.
“We haven’t reached the peak, and in fact, I’m not going to say it’s the beginning, but we’re still in the initial stages. Streaming in Latin America hasn’t fully penetrated yet; there’s still a long way to go,” the Spanish executive stated.
He asserted that the more streaming platforms expand in the region, “the more Latin music songs will flood the global charts, the more that will impact non-Latin countries, and the more it will continue to grow.”
“For me, there’s still a long way to go,” he said, explaining that “if (for example) everyone is listening to ‘Despacito,’ it climbs the global charts and explodes.”
In the United States alone, Latin music reached $500 million in revenue in the first half of 2026, 8.6% more than in the same period of 2025, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
For Guerrero, the potential also includes the diversity of genres and cultures of Latin America, where there are still sounds and countries to be discovered by international audiences.
“I believe that more than a decade of streaming has allowed for a much broader understanding of what Latin music is, but even so, there are still many genres to explore.”
He added, “That’s also the beauty of Latin music, all the different cultures, that ‘melting pot’ that is Latin culture, and there is still so much to discover and teach the rest of the world.”
Regarding the diversity of genres, he recalls that the global success of reggaeton opened up space for other sounds, such as regional Mexican music. “But I knew that once we had that global attention, it was just a matter of giving exposure to other genres, and people would understand that there was much more.”
The expert points out that technology has made it possible to bring artists like Shakira to India and Bad Bunny to Japan, where they have a “huge fan base”.
The executive from Amazon Music, the platform that this Saturday presents the first global live broadcast of a full Shakira concert from Madrid, where the artist closes her ‘Las mujeres ya no lloran World Tour’ with a residency, also highlighted the power of Latin artists.
In that regard, he noted that Latin tours led by women grew by 47% in gross revenue between 2023 and 2025, compared to 18% in the entire market for these circuits.
The return of albums
Guerrero also perceives a return of artists and fans to full albums, after years in which consumption was concentrated on singles, and cites Shakira, Karol G, Rosalía, Beyoncé, Olivia Rodrigo, and Bad Bunny as examples. “The art of the album is now making a comeback,” he states.
“We’ve seen examples this year, speaking of women, Rosalía, for example, with the Deluxe album, Karol G, I think it’s a beautiful way to showcase your art and also generate fans, real fans who follow you, who know who you are, who want to follow you everywhere,” she added.
The board also believes that music consumption is returning to “a better balance, we are returning to records.”
