Luminate’s midyear report exposes South Korea as the world’s 3rd biggest music exporter which music sung in English is ending up being less popular, likewise thanks to Latin music
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BTS. Todd Owyoung/NBC/Getty Images
K-pop fans have actually sustained an uncommon rise in physical album sales in 2026 according to Luminate ‘s midyear report. Fans of BTS, Enhypen, and Ateez significantly revealed out in droves at shops like Target and Walmart to purchase their preferred artists’ albums. The burst in interest was most significant with CD sales, which are up 16 percent this year; K-pop albums represented almost 10 percent of that figure.
BTS’Ariranghas actually offered 567,000 CDs up until now this year, while Enhypen’sThe Sin: Vanishoffered 286,400 CDs and Ateez’sGolden Hour: Part 4offered 263,000 CDs. The report discusses that about half of Gen Z and millennial customers who purchase CDs do not own a CD gamer, revealing that cds are now inexpensive novelties to some.Arirangtopped Luminate’s both vinyl and CD sales charts.
Combined with streaming numbers for K-pop and the Latin surge over the last few years, the supremacy of English-language music is on the decrease. Anglophone music now represents just 87.1 percent of streams with Spanish tunes representing 9.4 percent and Korean music holding consistent from 2025 at 1.1 percent. Bad Bunny’sDebí Tirar Más Fotosrepresent 1.54 million album-equivalent streams this year, while BTS’Arirangrepresent 1.49 million.Arirangalone made South Korea the world’s 3rd biggest music exporter behind the U.S. and U.K. respectively.
“Casual U.S. listenership of Latin music has actually struck an all-time high, with 54%– or more than one in 2 music listeners– now reporting that they engage with the category,” Jaime Marconette, Luminate’s vice president of music insights and market relations, informed The Associated Press. “Latin music’s cultural footprint is quickly expanding far beyond its conventional core base into the wider American mainstream.”
Other metrics of note in the report consist of the international on-demand audio streams are up 9.8 percent in general. R&B and hip-hop continue to control U.S. audio streams general however the categories’ fortress on the chart is slipping as streams of dance and electronic music climb. In addition, Latin music, sustained by Bad Bunny’s jaw-dropping Super Bowl halftime program, and nation, sustained by Morgan Wallen, are both up. Wallen’sI’m the Problemis the Number One album up until now this year, followed by Ella Langley’sDandelionand Bad Bunny’sDebí Tirar Más Fotosthen BTS’Arirang
Sixty percent of Gen Z listeners now listen to music from the 1990s or earlier, according to Luminate, which rather describes why the majority of the rock music streamed is 75 percent “deep brochure” (a.k.a. 5 years of ages or older.)
From Wanderer United States.
