Electronic music is the fastest-growing genre in the US this year

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Electronic music is the fastest-growing genre in the US this year

There is also a surge in interest for Latin music, thanks to artists including Karol G, Shakira and Bad Bunny

Electronic music has been revealed to be the fastest-growing music genre in the United States in 2026, a new report has found.

  • READ MORE: Why physical music media still matters in 2025

The stats were found based on data from a mid-year report from Luminate, which analyses analytics and insights from across the entertainment industry.

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Dance music came out on top in their findings, outpacing all other genres when it came to growth compared to the year before. Among the artists driving the trend were Disco Lines and John Summit, as well as a newfound interest in songs that were released between 2015 and 2017.

While the electronic genre is seeing the most growth compared to the year prior, the most popular genres across the country still remain R&B and hip-hop. According to Luminate’s findings, these two genres account for one in every four songs played online.

Other findings in the research also showed an impressive growth in interest for Latin music over the past few months, with casual listenership reaching 54 per cent in the first quarter of 2026. This increase is likely thanks to artists including Shakira, Peso Pluma, and Karol G, as well as Bad Bunny who performed at the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show and has become the highest-charting Spanish-language artist in history.

Spanish-language music makes up around one in every 10 streams in the US, although it is still English-language music that remains dominant.

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The research also shows that streaming as a whole has got more momentum, going up around 4.8 per cent compared to this time in 2025, and that UK artists have become more popular in the states generally too – with that market rising to 7.8 per cent.

Speaking about the findings, Jaime Marconette, Luminate VP of Music Insights & Industry Relations, said (via DJ Mag).“We are witnessing a structural realignment in language and borders, demonstrating that mainstream music success is no longer anchored to a single market.

“In the US, English-language streaming fell to a historic low of 87.1 per cent, while Spanish-language consumption climbed. At the halfway point in 2026, music industry benchmarks show an industry continuing to expand its global footprint…”

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Following Luminate’s report, earlier this month it was confirmed that 16.3million CDs were sold across the US between January and the end of June – significantly outpacing the growth of vinyl.

Vinyl sales grew by a more modest 2.4 per cent year-on-year, however, records remain the more popular of the two formats in terms of units, with 21.8million vinyl albums sold during the same period.

Earlier this year, Harry Styles’ ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally’ was revealed as the UK’s biggest-selling vinyl album of 2026 so far, shifting 69,000 copies by mid-April. It was followed by Olivia Dean’s ‘The Art Of Loving’, Gorillaz’ ‘The Mountain’, the War Child charity album ‘Help(2)’ and Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’.

RAYE’s ‘Where Is My Husband!’ topped the corresponding vinyl singles list, ahead of Taylor Swift’s ‘The Fate Of Ophelia’ and ‘Opalite’, and Sam Fender and Olivia Dean’s ‘Rein Me In’.

  • Related Topics
  • Bad Bunny
  • Electronic
  • Hip-hop
  • John Summit
  • Karol G
  • Peso Pluma
  • R&B
  • Shakira

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Electronic music has been revealed to be the fastest-growing music genre in the United States in 2026, a new report has found.

  • READ MORE: Why physical music media still matters in 2025

The stats were found based on data from a mid-year report from Luminate, which analyses analytics and insights from across the entertainment industry.

Advertisement

Dance music came out on top in their findings, outpacing all other genres when it came to growth compared to the year before. Among the artists driving the trend were Disco Lines and John Summit, as well as a newfound interest in songs that were released between 2015 and 2017.

While the electronic genre is seeing the most growth compared to the year prior, the most popular genres across the country still remain R&B and hip-hop. According to Luminate’s findings, these two genres account for one in every four songs played online.

Other findings in the research also showed an impressive growth in interest for Latin music over the past few months, with casual listenership reaching 54 per cent in the first quarter of 2026. This increase is likely thanks to artists including Shakira, Peso Pluma, and Karol G, as well as Bad Bunny who performed at the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show and has become the highest-charting Spanish-language artist in history.

Spanish-language music makes up around one in every 10 streams in the US, although it is still English-language music that remains dominant.

Recommended

The research also shows that streaming as a whole has got more momentum, going up around 4.8 per cent compared to this time in 2025, and that UK artists have become more popular in the states generally too – with that market rising to 7.8 per cent.

Speaking about the findings, Jaime Marconette, Luminate VP of Music Insights & Industry Relations, said (via DJ Mag).“We are witnessing a structural realignment in language and borders, demonstrating that mainstream music success is no longer anchored to a single market.

“In the US, English-language streaming fell to a historic low of 87.1 per cent, while Spanish-language consumption climbed. At the halfway point in 2026, music industry benchmarks show an industry continuing to expand its global footprint…”

Advertisement

Following Luminate’s report, earlier this month it was confirmed that 16.3million CDs were sold across the US between January and the end of June – significantly outpacing the growth of vinyl.

Vinyl sales grew by a more modest 2.4 per cent year-on-year, however, records remain the more popular of the two formats in terms of units, with 21.8million vinyl albums sold during the same period.

Earlier this year, Harry Styles’ ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally’ was revealed as the UK’s biggest-selling vinyl album of 2026 so far, shifting 69,000 copies by mid-April. It was followed by Olivia Dean’s ‘The Art Of Loving’, Gorillaz’ ‘The Mountain’, the War Child charity album ‘Help(2)’ and Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’.

RAYE’s ‘Where Is My Husband!’ topped the corresponding vinyl singles list, ahead of Taylor Swift’s ‘The Fate Of Ophelia’ and ‘Opalite’, and Sam Fender and Olivia Dean’s ‘Rein Me In’.

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