Bad Bunny at Coachella wasn’t just fun to watch. It’s part of a revolution | Opinion

When Puerto Rican sensation Bad Bunny made history as Coachella’s first-ever Spanish-language headliner in April, it was more than just a groundbreaking performance. It was a resounding confirmation of what industry experts have been proclaiming for years: Latin music is what the world craves.

As we await the 24th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in mid-November, the stage is set for the celebration of a genre that has reached unprecedented heights. But what fuels this Latin music phenomenon, and what does this meteoric rise signify for the future of music as a whole?

Latin music has become the largest music market in the United States, as declared by the Recording Industry Association of America when it announced record-breaking revenues in 2022 exceeding $1 billion. In addition, Bad Bunny concluded his third year as the world’s most-streamed artist. While these milestones are monumental, they come as no surprise to those of us who have been tracking the evolution of the Latin music industry in the past two decades.

For mega-concert producers like those behind Coachella, it was a logical choice to feature a Latin musician as a headliner. In 2022, Coachella welcomed more than 500,000 attendees and injected $1.5 billion into the local economy. Notably, last year’s Coachella lineup boasted more Spanish-language acts than ever before, and it marked the first time in the festival’s history that none of the headliners were of Caucasian descent.

This trajectory toward Latin music dominance on the global stage has been a long time coming. I witnessed the seismic shift when, in 2000, The Recording Academy received such an overwhelming number of Latin music submissions that it created its own separate show — the Latin Grammy Awards. This was a necessary move because the volume of musical production within the Latin Recording Academy was nearly equivalent to that of all other genres in the American market combined.

Latin music has consistently occupied the top spot in the music industry regarding sales, consumption and fan support. When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, it unlocked a new realm of possibilities for exposure.

Latin musicians spearheaded the digital revolution and went viral with their compositions. Recording artists, stuck at home, seized the moment and produced content at an incredible rate. Established stars collaborated with up-and-coming talents, resulting in a deluge of tracks that saturated the market. Since the onset of the pandemic, Latin musicians have found a multitude of digital platforms for advancing their work.

Nominations for a Latin Grammy are now harder to come by than ever. The competition has increased five-fold in the past five years, making it a challenge to stand out in the relentless world of social media. In the post-COVID era, music enthusiasts have eagerly returned to the concert scene, and Latin music has been at the forefront of this resurgence.

The prominence of Latin music in the concert arena can be attributed to the cultural importance of togetherness. The desire for a communal experience at live music events led to a post-COVID Coachella lineup filled with Latin musical acts, and this momentum is poised to continue.

This exciting resurgence spells great news for 2023 Latin Grammy nominees like myself and my talented students in the Music Business & Entrepreneurship program at the University of Florida. As the Latin music genre gains more visibility, it opens doors for our work to reach an even broader audience.

As we closely monitor the ascendance of Latin musicians on global concert stages and streaming platforms, it inspires us to remain at the forefront of this remarkable upward curve. Latin music is more than just a trend; it’s a sonic revolution that transcends borders and enriches the world of music.

José Valentino Ruiz, Ph.D., is a multi-Latin Grammy award-winning artist, composer, producer and engineer. He is the founder and program director of Music Business & Entrepreneurship at the University of Florida and the CEO at JV Music Enterprises.