Market Managing

Right now, country music is the most popular form of music within the United States, but could it get even bigger? Country music marketing execs are starting to wonder whether or not they are missing out on a whole population – a Hispanic population to be exact. A recent census found that about 9% of America’s current population is Hispanic, but that number is expected to jump to 24% by the year 2050 – a large, untapped market. Surprisingly, this realization is a rather recent phenomenon, but it’s an interesting situation all the same. Will country music be broadcast in Spanish? Can different labels find Spanish country stars, or maybe the equivalent? Does the Hispanic population even want to listen? Are they interested? Maybe, maybe not. But a recent study has shown a few key elements that should not be ignored.

Interestingly, Hispanics tend to listen to the radio more often than Caucasians do, but they aren’t listening to country music. A study done by Edison Media Research found that 40% of Hispanics don’t listen to country tunes, but they were not completely opposed to it either. The main reasons why country just isn’t all that popular? “It’s boring.” “The stories are repetitive.” “I don’t relate to it.” “People don’t like to dance to country music.” Another interesting statistic is that out of the Hispanics polled, most of them didn’t even realize that country music existed in their area. So what does all of this mean? It means that there is a large market out there that country music firms just aren’t able to reach. After this study will they start trying to reach the Hispanic community? Well, they’ll try. But for now executives are scratching their heads in wonder, trying to figure out just how to market the music without changing the beloved style.