Luminate Midyear Report 2026: Global Streaming Rises As AI Music And CDs Gain Momentum

The entertainment industry is becoming increasingly interconnected, with music, film and television influencing one another more than ever before. That's one of the key takeaways from Luminate's inaugural Midyear Report 2026, which combines insights from the music, film and TV sectors into a single study.

According to the report, global on-demand audio streaming grew 9.8% during the first half of 2026, while international markets outpaced the US with 11.8% growth, reinforcing their role as the primary driver of streaming expansion.

Latin, Country and Dance Gain Ground

Although R&B/Hip-Hop remains the most-streamed genre in the US, its dominance is beginning to ease. Luminate found the genre's share of Billboard 200 consumption has fallen to 30% from 41% in the first half of 2023.

Meanwhile, Latin, Country and Dance/Electronic music continue to gain momentum. Latin music reached a new milestone after Bad Bunny's February album release and Super Bowl performance helped drive a record 2.74 billion US on-demand streams in a single week.

CD Sales Continue Their Surprise Revival

Physical music also remained resilient, with CD sales increasing 16% to 16.3 million units, significantly outperforming vinyl, which grew 2.4%.

The resurgence was largely driven by BTS' ARIRANG, though CD sales still rose 6.7% even when K-pop releases were excluded. Luminate also found that 60% of Gen Z listeners primarily consume music released in the 1990s or earlier, highlighting the growing appeal of catalogue music.

The continued popularity of K-pop also helped South Korea climb to third place in Luminate's Export Power Rankings.

AI Music Finds an Audience

The report suggests AI-generated music is beginning to gain meaningful traction with listeners. AI act Breaking Rust saw nearly 59% of activity for its track Livin' on Borrowed Time come from US listeners, indicating growing acceptance of AI-created music.

Superfans Drive Revenue

Luminate's findings also reinforce the commercial value of dedicated fan communities. K-pop continues to lead in fan engagement and purchasing behaviour, while Indie Rock and EDM also generate highly engaged audiences. By comparison, Country and Pop attract larger but relatively less active fan bases.

Library Content Outperforms Originals

In television, streaming platforms are increasingly relying on catalogue programming. While Netflix still accounts for 57% of US original viewing time, its share has declined compared with last year.

Across major streaming services, libraries now offer around 19,000 catalogue titles, compared with roughly 7,000 originals, with older content generating nearly four times the viewing hours.

The report also notes that US TV premieres have dropped to 517 during the first half of 2026, down from 930 in 2022, although free ad-supported streaming platforms are helping offset the decline.

Music and Video Continue to Fuel Each Other

Luminate also highlights the growing relationship between music and streaming video. Following the Netflix release of documentary The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel, the band's US music streams increased 11%, while global streams rose 8% during the release week.

According to Luminate CEO Rob Jonas, the findings demonstrate that music, film and television are no longer operating as separate industries but are increasingly driving audience engagement across platforms.

The report paints a picture of an entertainment landscape where streaming continues to grow, audience preferences are diversifying, physical formats are finding renewed demand, and success in one medium is increasingly influencing performance across others.