A quarter of the world's top 20 touring artists are Latin musicians, according to new data from Pollstar.
For the week of August 5, the trade publication reports that Bad Bunny is in third place with an average box office gross per city of $3,816,973, behind Luke Combs in first place and Dead & Company in second. The data includes worldwide ticket price averages and average box office gross per city for each artist.
In addition to Bad Bunny, Colombian singer-songwriter Karol G ranks No. 9 with an average of $2,320,979 at the box office per city. Aventura, the Puerto Rican bachata band led by frontman Romeo Santos, is No. 11 with their 2024 reunion tour Cerrando Ciclos. Mexican pop singer Luis Miguel, who has been attracting global audiences since 1982, is No. 13 on the list. Lastly, Colombian reggaeton singer Feid ranks No. 17 on the top 20 global concert tours.
This touring data comes shortly after entertainment data analytics firm Luminate released its mid-year music report on July 16. The results revealed that Latin music is the fastest-growing genre on streaming services in the United States. Pollstar reporter Oscar Areliz found that the global touring market has seen major changes.
“Before, it seemed like the market would come and then disappear for a while, then re-emerge again,” Areliz said. “We always had these Latin movements in the past with artists like Ricky Martin or Gloria Estefan breaking into the mainstream.”
Areliz sees the release of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s song “Despacito” in 2017 as the turning point in the current Latin music scene.
“He [‘Despacito’] “It really cemented Latin music’s place in the mainstream and kept it there consistently. Artists like Bad Bunny, Karol G, and Peso Pluma certainly took that and ran with it by being bolder. They’re branching out into other sounds and really experimenting. It’s something that’s really getting attention everywhere.”
Hans Schafer, senior vice president of global touring at Live Nation, considers Karol G a pioneer in the genre. The 33-year-old singer broke away from exclusive Latin American and North American tours by including stops in Europe for the first time.
“This tour [Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito Tour] “It was a sold-out tour and became the largest European tour for a Latin artist, showcasing the expansive reach and popularity of Latin music,” Schafer said.
Karol G's European tour took in nine countries, including Spain, France, England and Germany. Across her 10 shows, she sold 415,000 tickets in total, making it the largest Latin music tour in Europe to date, according to published reports.
“These numbers confirm what we have always known and defended within the industry: Latin music is global,” said Schafer. “There is no turning back.”
