Latin music (genre)

This article is about a genre in the music industry. For music from Latin America, see Music of Latin America.

Latin music
Native name	Música latina
Stylistic origins	Latin American music Spanish music Portuguese music
Cultural origins	1980s in the United States
Derivative forms	Latin pop Latin ballad
2023 in Latin music

Latin music (Música latina in Spanish and Portuguese) is a musical category encompassing music from Spanish-speaking areas anywhere around the world mainly from Latin America and Spain. Most definitions of Latin music also include Portuguese-language music from Brazil and sometimes Portugal as well. The term, "Latin music", originates from the United States (US) due to the growing influence of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the American music market beginning in the 1980s. US trade industry groups such as Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Billboard magazine define "Latin music" as any type of release with most of its lyrics in Spanish regardless of genre.

Major record labels such as Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and Warner Music have divisions which oversees acts from Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula with an executive that manages both regions. Spain, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States are the largest Latin music markets in the world. In the 1990s, artists from Italy such as Eros Ramazzotti, Laura Pausini, and Tiziano Ferro successfully crossed over to the Latin music field by recording Spanish-language versions of their songs. In 2000, the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (LARAS) established the Latin Grammy Awards to recognize musicians who perform in Spanish or Portuguese. Unlike the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) which only accepts recordings that been released in the United States, LARAS admits any recordings in Spanish or Portuguese that have been released in Latin America, Spain, Portugal, and the United States. Similarly, the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 2012 to recognize songwriters from Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking regions around the world. In 2013, Spanish singer Julio Iglesias was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the best-selling male Latin artist of all time.

See also

• Billboard Top Latin Albums
• Hot Latin Songs
• Latin Grammy Award
• Latin pop
• Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame
• List of best-selling Latin albums in the United States
• OTI Festival
• Regional Mexican
• Tropical music

External links

• What Is Latin Music? About.com