By Adrian Carrasquillo, Huddled Masses, The Bulwark | As Donald Trump’s Mass Deportation Regime grinds on, parts of the sprawling Latin music business are feeling the effects. The new reality has resulted in a loss of revenue, canceled visas, and even fears that shows could draw the hostile attention of ICE. All this has fed a growing concern that the industry’s economic future could be at stake.
The troubles affecting the Latin music industry provide a remarkable example of the downstream effects of one of the most divisive policy initiatives of the current administration. And the situation facing the industry today would have seemed unfathomable not so long ago.
Latin music first exploded in the American pop scene in 1999 as stars like Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, and Shakira gained broad audiences and A-list fame. While it went from boom to bust in a few years, it has since seen major renewed growth.
The new wave of artists—from clear leader Bad Bunny, Spotify’s top artist three years in a row, to Karol G, Rauw Alejandro, Peso Pluma, Fuerza Regida, and more—is part of the modern mainstreaming of Latin music since 2017. Today, the genre is big business, generating a record-breaking $1.4 billion in revenue in 2024. Adjusting for inflation, this marked an 18 percent increase from the previous peak in 2005, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Last year was the third consecutive year in which Latin music amassed revenues of more than $1 billion.
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Read more on this HUGE LOSS to the music business here:
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/latin-music-business-suffers-trump-dhs-ice-deportations