Luminate’s midyear 2026 report says R&B/hip-hop is still the biggest streaming genre in the United States, but its share of listening is continuing to fall as dance/electronic, country and Latin gain ground. The report matters because it points to shifting audience tastes across streaming and physical sales, with stronger interest in older catalogue music and a notable resurgence in CDs. It also suggests the market is being shaped not just by what people stream, but by how superfans choose to support artists through collectible physical releases.

Globally, on-demand audio streams rose 9.8% in the first half of 2026, including 11.8% growth outside the US and 4.4% growth within it. R&B/hip-hop fell 1.6% year on year and its Billboard 200 equivalent market share dropped from well above 40% in early 2023 to about 30% at midyear 2026, while dance/electronic jumped 18.9% and world music 11.9%. CDs climbed 16%, with K-pop accounting for more than half of that increase, and physical retail shifted towards big-box chains as independent retailers’ share fell from 36.6% to 32.1% and e-commerce slipped from 27.4% to 26.1%; meanwhile, 75% of rock listening came from tracks over 60 months old.