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Add Billy Joel to the list of artists advocating for late powerhouse rock vocalist Joe Cocker to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. On Tuesday (April 1), Billy Joel posted a video in which he reads a letter he wrote in 2014 to the RRHOF’s induction committee — at a time when Cocker’s health was in decline — imploring the Rock Hall to finally enshrine Cocker in its ring of honor.
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“As a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of fame since 1999, it has been one of my finest hopes to see Joe Cocker into it as well,” Joel said in a never-before-released clip recorded in 2016 in which he notes that he was “stunned” that he was inducted before Cocker. “When I first heard him in 1969 I was very inspired by the sound of his incredibly raw and soulful vocal style.”
That same “watershed” year, Joel said he attended the Woodstock Festival, bought the first Led Zeppelin album and heard Cocker sing one of his signature, raw-boned covers, the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends.”
“I thought Joe was the most powerful rock n’ roll interpretive male singer I had heard since first hearing the iconic early recordings of Ray Charles,” Joel continued in the video. “In my opinion, no one has since come even close to him as one of the great primal rock n’ roll vocalists of all time. I feel very strongly that Joe Cocker should be considered for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
The plea came from a video recorded by filmmaker John Edginton backstage at Madison Square Garden before a Joel performance, which was filmed for the 2017 documentary Joe Cocker: Mad Dog With Soul, but not included in the final cut. The clip posted to Cocker’s Instagram feed last week, ends with Joel asking the committee to consider putting Cocker on the ballot that year (2016). The singer said he never heard back from the Hall, joking, “it shows how much impact I have.” The Edginton video also includes singer-songwriter Randy Newman expressing surprise that Cocker — who recorded Newman’s “You Can Leave Your Hat On” — had not been on the ballot to that point.
Cocker was famous for his ragged, one-of-a-kind covers of other acts’ famous songs, with Joel comparing the late singer to such legendary song interpreters as Frank Sinatra.
In February, Cocker — who died in December 2014 at 70 from lung cancer, just months after Joel penned the letter — was nominated for the RRHOF for the first time after 36 years of eligibility. He’s vying for a spot for the Rock Hall’s Class of 2025 alongside 13 other musical greats, including Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Mariah Carey, Chubby Checker, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Maná, Oasis, Outkast, Phish, Soundgarden and The White Stripes. The Class of 2025 will be revealed in late April, and this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in Los Angeles this fall, with details to be announced at a later date.
In March, Paul McCartney wrote his own letter to the Rock Hall also calling for Cocker’s induction. “Joe was a great man and a fine singer whose unique style made for some fantastic performances,” McCartney wrote. “He sang one of our songs ‘With a Little Help From My Friends,’ a [1968] version produced by Denny Cordell which was very imaginative.”
The two-time HOF honoree added, “All the people on the panel will be aware of the great contribution Joe made to the history of Rock and Roll. And whilst he may not have ever lobbied to be in the Hall of Fame, I know he would be extremely happy and grateful to find himself where he deserves to be amongst such illustrious company.”
Cocker’s widow, Pam Cocker, appreciated Macca support and his “sweet, sweet letter,” saying, “Joe was never anxious for it. The awards and accomplishments and all of that kind of stuff were not his thing — not to say that he wouldn’t be very pleased, as I am, just thrilled. But you just didn’t think about it.”
In addition, ZZ Top guitarist/singer Billy Gibbons has also supported the nomination of “one of a kind” singer Cocker nomination, saying, “Good news in view of the monumental recordings released and amazing performances… the very embodiment of rock and roll in terms of talent and spirit.”
See Joel’s video below.
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Over the weekend, the Hip-Hop community was shocked when news began circulating that Young Scooter had passed away from a self-inflicted injury during a police chase in Atlanta. While specifics about the encounter were minimal at the time, more information is coming out about what led to the deadly incident.
According to TMZ, Young Scooter seems to be the latest victim of a “swatting” as someone called the police to his residence to disturb the man’s peace, only for it to lead to the man’s death on his 39th birthday. On Monday (March 31st), Atlanta police released audio of the 911 call they received the day of the incident, and in the cal,l a woman who said she was part of the “neighborhood watch” claimed to be witnessing a naked woman on Scooter’s premises being dragged out and fighting over drugs. The caller added that the woman was calling men over to shoot up the place and then stated that the woman was “bleeding profusely” from a head wound while being held hostage.
The caller also said that she always suspected that the residence was used for drug-dealing or prostitution, imploring police to go inspect the premises. That’s when things went awry.
Per TMZ:
There was also supposedly a child in danger — but when Atlanta police rushed the scene, they encountered NONE OF THAT … only someone who slammed the door in officers’ faces when they approached the front.
It was then Young Scooter, likely clueless to the 911 dispatch, fled from the back of the residence with another man … only to tear a femoral artery by jumping a fence as cops gave chase.
Officers never discovered a woman “bleeding profusely” … and Scooter eventually succumbed to his injuries at the Grady Marcus Trauma Center later that night.
No word on whether the police are going to investigate the call and track down the woman who made the call, but fans do want answers as to what prompted that call and how it all went horribly wrong.
What do y’all think about this latest twist in the untimely passing of Young Scooter? Let us know in the comments section below.
—Photo: Prince Williams / Getty
On April 1, 1995, Trisha Yearwood’s “Thinkin’ About You” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, beginning a two-week reign. It became the third of her five career leaders, among 19 top 10s.
The hit was the title song from Yearwood’s 1995 album. It was authored by Bob Regan and Tom Shapiro, with production by Garth Fundis. Thinkin’ About You arrived at its No. 3 peak on Top Country Albums, giving Yearwood her third of 15 top 10s, a haul that includes four No. 1s.
The set’s “XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl)” topped Hot Country Songs for two weeks in September 1994. After the title track’s chart run, “You Can Sleep While I Drive” (written by Melissa Etheridge) hit No. 23 and “I Wanna Go Too Far” returned Yearwood to the top 10 (No. 9). Last single “On a Bus to St. Cloud” also dented the survey.
Yearwood was born on Sept. 19, 1964, in Monticello, Ga. In 1984, she graduated from Young Harris College with an associate degree in business. Prior to signing with MCA Records in 1990, she worked various jobs in Nashville, including a stint as a receptionist at MTM Records.
Yearwood’s rookie single, “She’s in Love With the Boy,” crowned Hot Country Songs for two weeks in August 1991. Its 30th anniversary was marked in 2021 with a surprise celebration at the Grand Ole Opry (to which she was inducted in 1999).
Now 60, and married to fellow country cornerstone Garth Brooks since December 2005, Yearwood is active in music and as a TV personality and an author, having published multiple cookbooks.
2025 has already proven to be a busy year for Yearwood. On March 24, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with dedications by Reba McEntire and Carly Pearce, and with Brooks by her side. With a new album due this year, Yearwood will kick-off a seven-city theater tour beginning on April 30 in Austin, Texas.
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Kevin Hart is best known for his comedy specials and blockbuster films, but he has dabbled a bit in the world of Hip-Hop under his Chocolate Droppa persona. Chocolate Droppa, excuse us, Kevin Hart, showed up for NPR’s Tiny Desk series to drop some powerful off-the-dome bars with a backing band for April Fools’ Day.
NPR published the new set from Chocolate Droppa, aka Kevin Hart, on April 1, prompting many in the comments on the YouTube page to ponder if they were being pranked. From what we can tell, this was a serious production with Hart being flanked by a four-man band he constantly referred to as the Band of Brothers.
Throughout the performance and never breaking character, Hart/Droppa offered motivational words between the songs and boasted about being the first rapper to go strictly off the top of the head on the set. The improvisational performance was clear as Droppa did go into his classics bag to deliver portions of “ATL RAP” and the tracks “Love Song,” “West Coast” and ending with “Don’t F*ck With Dem.”
The good-natured performance and Hart’s super-serious speeches, coupled with him directing the band to give him some heat to rap atop of got more than a few chuckles from the Tiny Desk concert attendees. That said, we know why Kevin Hart is a comedian and a major movie star first, but we love the effort.
Check out Chocolate Droppa’s Tiny Desk set below.
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Photo: YouTube/NPR
Legendary regional Mexican group Banda El Recodo is gearing up for the release of their new album, En Vivo Desde Japón (Live from Japan). Recorded last year during their performance at the De Camino a Latinoamérica festival in Tokyo at Odaiba Pier, the album will be rolled out in five weekly installments starting this Thursday (April 3).
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“We decided to release it this way to offer something different,” says Alfonso “Poncho” Lizárraga, leader of the group that was founded in Mazatlán nearly 87 years ago, in an exclusive interview with Billboard Español. “Each installment will feature a collection of songs grouped under a specific theme.”
The first part, titled Orgullo por México (Pride for Mexico), will include tracks like “Puño de Tierra,” “El Sinaloense/El Corrido de Mazatlán,” and “El Rey/Cielito Lindo/Viva México.” This will be followed by Amor Como Lenguaje Universal (Love as a Universal Language) on April 10, featuring a medley of “Te Presumo/Me Gusta Todo de Ti/La Mejor de Todas,” “Y Llegaste Tú,” and the spotlight track “No Me Aprovechaste,” an unreleased song written by Luciano Luna.
On April 17, the third installment, Separación, Distancia, Desamor (Separation, Distance, Heartbreak), will be released, featuring songs such as “Que te Ruegue Quien te Quiera,” “Yo Sé que te Acordarás/Vas a Llorar por Mí/Acá Entre Nos,” and “Triste Recuerdo/Te Ofrezco un Corazón.” A week later, on April 24, Viva La Fiesta (Long Live the Party) will debut, showcasing the tracks “La Crazy Loca,” “La Culebra,” and “La Quebradora/Vámonos de Fiesta.” Finally, on May 8, En Vivo Desde Japón will be completed with a second unreleased track, “El Malo Soy Yo,” along with “Qué Bonita/El Farol.”
This marks the second time Banda El Recodo has recorded a live album outside of Mexico. Back in 1995, they released Desde París, Francia, La Gira Europa ’95 (En Vivo) (From Paris, France, The Europe Tour ’95 Live). It is also their second time performing in Japan, where they first visited in 2002 to support the Mexican National Soccer Team during the World Cup, playing in five different cities.
“This time, we were part of an event where we were invited to share a piece of our culture with an audience of 5,000 people. It was an incredible experience and a great source of pride,” says Lizárraga. “Nowadays, there’s a growing openness to discovering Mexican music — and we find it very important that mariachi and banda are represented worldwide.”
“It’s important to honor and dignify traditional Mexican music,” Lizárraga continues. “We want the history of Mexican music to be respected and preserved. This doesn’t mean we don’t support new talents or younger generations, but it’s crucial to keep our traditions alive.”
Banda El Recodo will kick off the U.S. leg of their ’90s Banda Tour on May 25 in Newburgh, N.Y., joined by Banda Machos, Banda Los Recoditos, and Banda Maguey. The tour will blend traditional banda hits with technobanda and la quebradita, a music and dance explosion that took the scene by storm during the 1990s.
In Mexico, the tour is called Las Más Perronas (Mexican slang roughly meaning the Baddest) and includes only Banda El Recodo and Banda Machos, with three dates announced: July 11 at the Auditorio Telmex in Guadalajara, August 9 at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico, and Sept. 5 at the Arena Monterrey.
Banda El Recodo
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Summer School is back for its Sophomore session.
On Tuesday morning (April 1) idobi Radio Summer School Tour founders Eric Tobin (Hopeless Records), Michael Kaminsky (management firm KMGMT) and Vans Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman announced the return of the traveling punk rock showcase for new acts with a lineup that includes headliners Taylor Acorn, Charlotte Sands and Rain City Drive and support from If Not For Me, Beauty School Dropout, Arrows in Action, and Huddy.
Sponsored by idobi radio and Hot Topic, the coast-to-coast showcase will make an inaugural stop at the July 27 Vans Warped Tour date in Long Beach, Calif.; the Warped tour is returning for a limited three-stop run this summer after a six-year absence.
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“We launched last year and were really encouraged by the reaction to Summer School from the fans — there had been a need in the market for new bands to connect with young audiences looking for new bands to support,” Tobin tells Billboard. He noted that he and his partners had always imagined Summer School as a touring vehicle from a bygone era, working with young bands to focus on artist development, community, ticket affordability and social impact.
Kaminsky tells Billboard that acts on the tour alternate set times at each date and are encouraged to spend time meeting and interacting with fans, describing the tour as an “incubator for the next generation” of headliners.
“If you look at the current touring business, most new acts are given support slots on tours and not given a chance to breakout on their own and shine,” Kaminsky says. “This is a chance for these acts to enjoy some of the spotlight without high priced tickets.”
Lyman said he was immediately sold on the idea once it was pitched by Tobin and Kaminsky last year, noting “the lack of available opportunities for young bands to find audiences. There’s very little artist development for today’s acts and hopefully Summer School creates a vehicle for that development.”
‘Launching July 11 at the Fillmore Detroit, the 2025 run will stop in 23 cities before wrapping at Philadelphia’s Franklin Music Hall. Pre-sale tickets for the 2025 idobi Radio Summer School Tour are available with reduced ticketing fees here beginning today at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT. General on-sale tickets are available for $35 plus applicable taxes and fees starting Friday, April 4 at 10 a.m. local time.
Eddie Barella, CEO of sponsor idobi Radio, called the partnership “an incredible honor” for “championing emerging artists, amplifying their voices, and ensuring that alternative music continues to thrive” while Andrea Lewis, Hot Topic VP of Brand Marketing added, “Partnering with Summer School allows us to support the next generation of artists and fans who are shaping the future of alternative culture, and we’re proud to be part of something that creates such an unforgettable experience.”
Dates for idobi Radio Summer School are below. More at summerschooltour.com.
July 11, 2025 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
July 12 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
July 13 – Cleveland, OH @ The Agora
July 15 – Newport, KY @ MegaCorp Pavilion
July 16 – Chesterfield, MO @ The Factory at The District
July 18 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
July 19 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
July 20 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union
July 22 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
July 23 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
July 25 – Sacramento, CA @ Channel 24
July 26 – Long Beach, CA @ Vans Warped Tour*
July 27 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
July 29 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
July 30 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
August 1 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
August 2 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade Heaven
August 3 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
August 5 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
August 6 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
August 8 – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
August 9 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
August 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
* Vans Warped Tour Event
Tony Bennett’s daughters have expanded their legal battle against their older brother, claiming in a new lawsuit that he has “abused” his power over the late singer’s affairs to “enrich himself.”
Echoing allegations from a separate case they filed last year, Antonia and Johanna Bennett accuse D’Andrea “Danny” Bennett of “improper and unlawful conduct” in his role as trustee of the family estate, both before and after the legendary singer’s 2023 death.
They say the legal action is necessary to “protect their father’s wishes,” which were that all four of his children “be treated equally.”
Trending on Billboard
“Since Tony’s death, Johanna and Antonia have discovered that Danny exercised complete and unchecked control over Tony and his financial affairs prior to and following his death through multiple fiduciary and other roles of authority that Danny has abused, and continues to abuse, for his own significant financial gain,” attorneys for the Bennett sisters write in the Monday filing.
Among other allegations, Antonia and Johanna say Danny paid himself “excessive and unearned commissions” and gave “substantial loans and gifts to himself and his children” prior to the singer’s death: “Danny engaged in these improper transactions without accountability or oversight of any kind, freely using and controlling Tony’s assets and trust assets often as if they were Danny’s own.”
Antonia and Johanna first sued Danny in a petition filed last summer in the same New York court, but that case sought only to force Danny to open the books for the family trust. The new filing is more of an outright lawsuit, accusing him of various forms of wrongdoing and is seeking monetary damages.
An attorney for Danny did not immediately return a request for comment on the allegations Tuesday.
In court filings in the earlier case, Danny’s lawyers have argued that he was “fully authorized to take the steps he took” and that Bennett had “specifically excluded his daughters from ever having any role in such matters after his death.” They also say he has been “fully transparent” about the details of the Iconoclast deal, including providing them with the full agreement and a detailed breakdown of income.
“The undisputed facts establish that Tony provided Danny with authority to manage his affairs and business opportunities, and that Danny did so honestly and in an appropriate manner,” his attorney wrote in a February filing seeking to dismiss the case. “Ironically, Petitioners, despite their baseless complaints, are the beneficiaries of Danny’s hard work and devotion to his father.”
Like the earlier case, Monday’s lawsuit repeatedly references last year’s sale of Bennett’s likeness rights and other intellectual property to the firm Iconoclast. Antonia and Johanna say Danny earned millions from that deal and had “clear conflicts of interest” when he executed it, but has refused to provide them with a clear accounting of the proceeds or other key information about the sale.
“Danny’s explanation for the timing and reasons for the Iconoclast transaction contradict the financial information Danny has provided and fail to establish in any way that the transaction was appropriate, properly valued, free of conflicts of interest and improper self-dealing, and in the best interest of the beneficiaries,” attorneys for the daughters write.
Iconoclast is not accused of any wrongdoing in the lawsuit. The company, which describes itself as “dedicated to preserving and growing the legacy of culturally significant artists,” did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.
The daughters also claim that Danny mishandled Bennett’s physical property after his death, doing so in a “malicious and retaliatory manner” simply because they had asked for more transparency into the financial affairs.
“Danny prohibited Johanna and Antonia from retaining certain items that are priceless to them, and he kept them from even entering Tony’s apartment to see these items for a prolonged period of time,” their lawyers write. “Danny also discarded items of tremendous sentimental value to Johanna and Antonia without notice.”
While some industry observers looking back on 2024 may see a half-empty cup due to slowing music industry revenue growth, a lackluster stock performance from the publicly traded major music companies and slightly declining valuation multiples in private catalog deals, Shot Tower Capital says it sees the “half-full” side of things.
That’s because Shot Tower, the boutique investment banking firm specializing in music asset transactions, says the sector still enjoys plenty of investor interest, adding that the industry is recession-resistant, as proven over time. As a result, it foresees stable valuation multiples.
Even though fewer music asset transactions closed in 2024 than in any year since 2018, some of the transactions for music assets carried valuations larger than $1 billion resulted in the “highest dollar value year for music M&A transactions in the post-streaming era,” according to Shot Tower’s annual Year in Review and Music Industry Outlook report. In 2024, transactions with an aggregate dollar value in excess of $8 billion have closed, according to the Baltimore-based firm.
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Moreover, Shot Tower notes that while some institutional investors like KKR, Vine Alternative Investments and Elliot Management have exited the music asset space, other private equity groups have entered it or increased their investments in the sector, including Hellman & Friedman, which bought a majority stake in Global Music Rights; New Mountain Capital, which acquired BMI; and Flexpoint Ford, which launched
in the music space with an investment in Nettwerk Music Group in March 2023 and has since invested in Create Music Group, Goldstate Music and Duetti.
Finally, while interest rates now offer competitive returns on music assets, thus negating somewhat the attractiveness of some music assets while making potential deals more expensive to finance, that has been offset by the breakout of asset-backed securitization, which allows buyers to finance deals at rates more favorable than rates offered by bank lenders.
During the last 18 months, Shot Tower has been either the financial advisor or sell-side advisor in transactions that included the sale of 50% of Michael Jackson music assets to Sony Music Group; the sale of a majority interest in Mavin Records to Universal Music Group; and the sale of the Hipgnosis Songs Fund to Blackstone. And those are just the publicly disclosed deals; the company declines to say how many deals it participated in last year.
Shot Tower compiled data on some 25 publicly known and privately sold music asset transactions during 2024, including deals it advised on and other deals it was aware of, even if it wasn’t a participant. From that, it reports that typical music publishing multiples averaged 16.1 times net publisher share (NPS) in 2024 versus 16.7 times in 2023.
However, if iconic transactions — assets with valuations over $200 million — are included, then average multiples are larger but nevertheless also declined from 2023’s 18.4 times NPS to 17.5 times NPS in 2024.
(How are multiples figured? If a song catalog collects $25 million in revenue and, after paying out royalties of $15 million, leaves $10 million in net publisher share, or NPS; and if that catalog is then sold for $200 million, that means the transaction carried a 20 times NPS multiple.)
Recorded music multiples also declined last year. Net label share (NLS) fell to a 13 times multiple for music asset transactions — excluding deals of iconic assets — from the prior year’s 13.8 times NLS multiple. If iconic transactions are included, then the average multiple in 2024 was 14.2 times NLS versus 15.2 times NLS in 2023.
Looking at multiples over time, Shot Tower says that the peak year for average music publishing multiples was 2021, when 19.4 times, including iconic transactions, was the average multiple; while the peak year for recorded music transitions was 2022, when the average multiple for deals including iconic catalogs was 16.3 times. NLS generally trails NPS, but overall, the window between the two multiples is narrowing slightly.
In most years between 2014 and 2022, the multiple spread between music publishing and recorded music catalogs was bigger by a factor of 4 in favor of NPS. For example, in 2014, NPS averaged a 12.5 times multiple while NLS averaged an 8.5 times multiple. But in the last two years, that window has narrowed to a factor of three, with last year’s NPS coming in at 16.1 versus NLS at 13.0; while in 2023, NPS averaged a 16.7 times multiple while NLS averaged a 13.8 times multiple.
Shot Tower attributes the valuation gap between recorded music and music publishing to a number of factors. For one, marketing costs to exploit recorded music are much higher. Music publishing also has more diversified income streams than recorded music. Additionally, music publishing growth slightly exceeds recorded music growth, according to Shot Tower’s analysis.
Looking forward, Shot Tower says it expects music publishing valuation multiples to decline slightly to about a 15.1 times multiple in 2028 from 2024’s 16.1 times average multiple, while it expects recorded music average multiples for valuations will decline to an average of a 12 times multiple from 2024’s average of a 13 times multiple.
One of the reasons Shot Tower thinks institutional investors will remain interested in investing in music assets is because of the increasingly popular use of asset-backed securitization (ABS) to finance deals due to “stable royalty income streams.” According to Shot Tower’s analysis, a buyer using asset-backed securitization can pay about 10% higher than a bank-financed buyer while achieving the same equity return. ABS deals also allow for a greater ratio of debt to equity (up to 65% leverage) than deals financed using bank financing (55% leverage).
Consequently, “this represents a meaningful offset to rising interest rates,” the report notes.
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Crime Mob, the Atlanta-based rap group that brought crunk to the forefront, broke onto the scene in the early 2000s with their banger “Knuck If You Buck.”
Formed in 2002, the crew initially consisted of M.I.G., Cyco Black, Lil’ Jay, Killa C, and the fierce female duo, Princess and Diamond. Their raw, high-energy sound made them an instant staple in Southern hip-hop, dominating parties and the streets with tracks like “Rock Yo Hips” and “Stilettos (Pumps).” But even with all that heat, behind-the-scenes drama eventually caused their downfall.
In a recent podcast interview, Princess dropped a bombshell about the real reason behind Crime Mob’s breakup. Apparently, she once hit Diamond with a wild story, telling her that Michael Jackson had been spotted at Six Flags and was interested in hopping on a remix of “Knuck If You Buck.” At first, Diamond bought the story, but when she found out it was a total lie, she was livid. Feeling betrayed, Diamond made the decision to bounce from the group, and that was the beginning of the end for Crime Mob.
While fans had always speculated that creative differences or industry pressures were to blame, Princess’s confession caught everyone off guard. Though they’ve occasionally linked up for performances, Crime Mob never fully reclaimed their place in the rap game. Despite their brief time in the spotlight, their influence is undeniable, with their tracks still bumping in the clubs and inspiring a new generation of Southern rappers.
Crime Mob may be gone, but their legacy is far from over.
Latin music continued its extraordinary rise in the U.S. in 2024, hitting a record-breaking $1.4 billion in revenue, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Adjusted for inflation, this milestone represents an 18% increase over the genre’s previous peak in 2005 and marks the third consecutive year surpassing $1 billion.
Streaming remained the lifeblood of Latin music’s success, accounting for a staggering 98% of total revenue in 2024. Paid subscription services contributed more than two-thirds of those earnings, growing 6% year-over-year to $967 million. Meanwhile, ad-supported on-demand streaming platforms like YouTube, Vevo and the free tier of Spotify amassed $354 million, nearly 25% of the genre’s total value — an outsized share compared to the overall market’s 10% in this area, according to the annual report.
“I’m heartened by the continued explosive popularity of Latin music across the U.S. as artists and labels forge new ways to connect with fans,” says Rafael Fernandez Jr., RIAA’s svp of state public policy & Latin music, in a press release. “With streaming delivering 98% of Latin revenues, we can see how the Latin music community’s embrace of innovation lets traditional stars and new generations reach fans like never before — breaking language and access barriers to more boldly shape America’s music future every year.”
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Powering this dominance is a lineup of global superstars driving engagement across platforms. According to Billboard’s year-end Top Latin Artists chart of 2024, Bad Bunny claimed the No. 1 spot for a sixth consecutive year. Meanwhile, Fuerza Regida surged to second place following a string of album and EP releases that resonated with fans across the U.S. Karol G held her own as the only female in the top 10, at No. 4, while Peso Pluma came in at No. 3 — artists who are blazing new trails and cementing Latin music’s cultural and commercial growth.
Courtesy Photo
While streaming dominates, physical formats also experienced a surprising resurgence, with revenues up 35% from 2022. Despite still accounting for only 1% of overall U.S. Latin music income, this trend indicates opportunities to cater to collectors and superfans through vinyl and other tangible releases.
“There are still more opportunities to push the bounds of innovation, engaging superfans, expanding paid streaming and introducing vinyl nostalgia to this specific market,” adds Matthew Bass, RIAA’s vp of research and gold & platinum operations, in a press release. “After nearly a decade rising and rising again, Latin music keeps surging across the US and is only getting started!”
According to IFPI’s recent Global Music Report, Latin America has experienced a 15-year growth streak, becoming one of the fastest-growing regions in the world. For the first time, Mexico has entered the top 10 global music markets, overtaking Australia for the No. 10 spot. Meanwhile, Brazil holds steady at No. 9, making 2024 the first year that two Latin American countries have appeared in IFPI’s top 10 rankings, which are based on recorded music revenue.
Courtesy Photo
