IFPI survey shows the importance of streaming for Latin American listeners

Latin America is making waves in the music world, both in creating and consuming music. IFPI Director of Insight and Analysis David Price presented recent findings from a report on Latin American music consumers at the Midem conference that capture that impact.

According to the IFPI’s data, Latin America generated 16.8% growth in music revenue during 2018. Listeners in the region tend to be heavy music consumers, with 10.4% of them listening to 25.9 hours a week. Asia was the closest to that rate with 8.1% heavy consumers, followed by 5.4% in North America and 2.2% in Europe. Listening to 23.7 hours of music weekly classified as an active listener, and nearly half (47.1%) of Latin American respondents fell under that banner. Again, Asia and North America trailed notably farther with 37.2% and 31.1% active listeners. Latin American music fans listened to an average 22.4 hours a week, surpassing the 17.8 hour global average.

Listeners in Latin America are also heavy users of streaming services. Streaming generated 67% of music revenue for the region, compared with 46.9% of the global total. Monthly rates of listening to streaming services were also higher: 72% in Latin America, 68% in Asia, and 59% in Europe. IFPI noted that YouTube is a major player in streaming for Latin America, responsible for 49% of all listening on average.