Tag: sad sierreno

‘La Tierra de Música Mexicana’: A Three-Day Celebration of the Genre’s Rich Cultural Heritage With Panels, Performances, and More

September 9, 2024

Across generations and borders, Música Mexicana continues to reach new fans. On Spotify, the genre has experienced unprecedented growth, with global streams up more than 440% since 2018. Several Música Mexicana subgenres are also on the rise as new waves of artists put their stamps on long-established musical traditions.

Last month, we celebrated “La Tierra de Música Mexicana” with a series of Spotify Singles showcasing three of today’s hottest subgenres: electro corridos, norteño sax, and sad sierreño. This week, we’re thrilled to bring the campaign to life for fans, artists, and industry leaders with a three-day affair in Los Angeles to celebrate all that falls under the Música Mexicana umbrella.

Over the first two days, the event will offer panels, masterclasses, and showcases tailored to emerging artists and industry professionals. On the third and final day, “La Tierra de Música Mexicana” will take over Avalon Hollywood with a packed lineup of performances from some of the genre’s most exciting artists.

Wednesday, September 11

We’ll kick things off with a Spotify for Artists masterclass focused on the tools and resources available to our creator community. Next, our Editorial team will host a Playlists, Curation, and Algorithms panel exploring our playlist ecosystem and how we represent Música Mexicana culture across Spotify. Our experts will then be available to answer specific questions during a “breakout tables” segment.

From there, our Songwriter and Publisher Partnerships team will explore the business side of Música Mexicana, with a focus on empowering and educating the new generation of songwriters and producers. Attendees will also be treated to a sit-down interview with Miguel Armenta, the songwriter behind “TQM” by Fuerza Regida, as we take a deep dive through the hit songs he’s helped create via his Written By playlist.

Night one will close out with our Mujeres en Música Mexicana panel and showcase featuring women artists and industry professionals from across the genre, including Chiquis, Erika Vidrio, and Designo Celestial.

Thursday, September 12

On day two, we’ll host a live show and Q&A with the hosts of the Agushto Papa podcast and special guests Oscar Ortiz and Alex Favela, who will delve into the trends and artistry shaping the genre.

Up next: presentations on strategic partnerships and music sales promotion. We’ll discuss how artists combine Spotify tools with their own marketing strategies to build successful album release cycles, followed by how to leverage tools like Showcase and Marquee to promote new music to your most likely listeners.

We’ll also hear from leading Música Mexicana experts on the evolution of the genre, as well as changes within the industry itself. Last but not least, the day will conclude with performances from Oscar Ortiz, Clave Especial, Octavio Cuadras, Adriana Ríos, and Adrian L Santos.

Friday, September 13

To close out “La Tierra de Música Mexicana,” Spotify is extending a special invite to our Música Mexicana Top Fans in Los Angeles for an evening of unmissable performances. Both established and emerging artists will take the stage, including Gabito Ballesteros, DannyLux, Oscar Maydon, Los Primos del Este, Alex Favela, Estevie, and Ivonne Galaz.

“Música Mexicana means so much to me because it truly changed my life,” says DannyLux. “From growing up listening to it with my family to being able to perform it onstage is something I’ll always be grateful for. I love how much people have embraced it in the past few years, and it’s cool to see it being mixed with different genres along the way. It’s a very collaborative genre and I think that’s why it lends itself to growth, because all the artists are willing to make magic together.”

Stream our Los Que Mandan playlist to hear the next generation of hitmakers, then head to our La Tierra de Música Mexicana hub to explore the genre in all its glory.

Take In the Many Flavors of Música Mexicana With Our Special Series of Spotify Singles

August 5, 2024

As one of the fastest-growing genres worldwide, Música Mexicana has emerged as an unstoppable cultural force in recent years. In fact, between 2018 and 2023, Música Mexicana streams on Spotify shot up by more than 440% globally, with artists like Peso Pluma, Natanael Cano, Fuerza Regida, and Grupo Frontera rising to the top of the charts. Younger fans are particularly captivated by the genre: Gen Z streams climbed nearly 60% over the last year.

And it’s not just a single sound that’s responsible for such a meteoric rise. The Música Mexicana umbrella encompasses a rich tapestry of styles and genres, including corridos, banda, norteño, sierreño, grupero, and mariachi. A number of Música Mexicana subgenres have experienced significant growth on Spotify, as new waves of artists put their stamp on long-established musical traditions.

To celebrate the diverse landscape of Mexican music, Spotify is launching “La Tierra de Música Mexicana,” a new campaign spotlighting three of today’s hottest subgenres: electro corridos, norteño sax, and sad sierreño. We’ll showcase these sounds with a series of Spotify Singles launching throughout the month of August, each representing a unique facet of Música Mexicana.

Electro corridos

Electro corridos are a modern take on corridos, a style of music steeped in history, tradition, and storytelling. This subgenre fuses the electronic sounds of dance and house music, as well as dembow and urban beats, with the lyrics and storytelling of a corrido.

Debuting August 7, the first of the three Spotify Singles is “LIV” by brothers Sebastian and Eugenio Esquivel and producer-DJ Deorro. The forthcoming release captures the essence of electro corridos, which have seen remarkable growth on Spotify in the past year. They’ve experienced a 644% rise in consumption in the U.S. and a 590% rise in consumption in Mexico.

Stream our Electro Corridos playlist to hear some of the best the genre has to offer.

Norteño sax

Up next, “Beso” by Los Primos del Este, which showcases the norteño sax sound, will drop on August 21. Norteño sax blends the traditions of northern Mexican music with the distinct melodies and sonic textures of the saxophone. On Spotify, consumption of norteño sax has grown by 39% in both the U.S. and Mexico over the past year.

Discover the genre’s hottest hits on our Norteño Sax playlist.

Sad sierreño

Last but not least, “Cielo Eterno,” the sad sierreño single by DannyLux and Jasiel Nuñez, will arrive on August 28. Sad sierreño is a Gen Z twist on sierreño, a style of Mexican folk music best known for nostalgic ballads performed with acoustic guitars. Infused with emotive and introspective songwriting, sad sierreño has seen a 48% increase in consumption in both the U.S. and Mexico over the past year on Spotify, with Gen Z accounting for more than 40% of the genre’s streams.

Dive into our Sad Sierreño playlist to hear tracks that’ll get you in your feels.

Spotify has been proud to support Música Mexicana’s rise into a global powerhouse. “La Tierra de Música Mexicana” follows last year’s “La Tierra del Corrido” campaign, which included a special showcase featuring performances from top artists like Chino Pacas and Esteban Gabriel. We also celebrated “La Tierra de Texas” earlier this year, bringing live Música Mexicana performances to the iconic Houston Rodeo.

Head over to our Música Mexicana hub to explore the genre in all its glory, with everything from new releases to classic favorites.

bummer summer Is Spotify’s New Playlist for Gen Z Listeners To Tap Into Their Feels

August 21, 2023

Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” stuck in your head? You’re not alone. On Spotify this summer, sad songs are getting us in our feels, thanks to our listeners who are unapologetically expressing their emotions. “Sad” is the most-searched term for Gen Z listeners on Spotify globally, and they’re tuning into our sad playlists—including pop-infused sad hour, R&B-inspired All The Feels, rap-heavy tear drop, sad sierreño, sad girl country, and sad girl starter pack—more than any other age group.

To match the vibe in the U.S. and Canada, we launched bummer summer, the ultimate lineup of moody jams and soul-filling songs. Complete with tracks from d4vd, Frank Ocean, Phoebe Bridgers, Lana Del Rey, Big Thief, and Billie Eilish, the playlist echoes the honesty and transparency that Gen Zs emulate in their lives and listening—and harnesses the ability of emotive, lyrical music to enhance any mood.

“There’s something really unique about this generation,” says Krista Scozzari, Spotify North American Marketing Lead. “They embrace their feelings so much. They’re really flipping the stigma of vulnerability. Gen Z has brought a raw, authentic new reality to expressing their emotions, and we’re seeing that in how they listen. We wanted to celebrate this powerful thing they’re doing.”

Gen Z listeners are seeking tracks that evoke feelings of nostalgia, wistfulness, and wanting—songs that feel like a warm embrace. “It’s important to note that not everything sounds like Billie Eilish’s ‘What Was I made For?’” says Lizzy Szabo, Spotify Senior Editor for Indie Music. “Though that was one of the breakout sad songs of the summer—probably the biggest—and was given a lot of extra context from being in the Barbie movie. It really took this feeling of nostalgia and met it with current issues and feelings.”

Lizzy notes that subgenres like indie pop, sad rap, and sad sierreño have all boomed in the past year, with standout artists including Phoebe Bridgers (bonus points for her work with boygenius), Joji, Alex G, Haley Heynderickx, Ivan Cornejo, and Junior H. She’s also seeing a rise in catalog listening for the broody sounds of Cigarettes After Sex, TV Girl, Lana Del Rey, Mitski, and Radiohead. “Artists have a way of putting things better than we ever could, so it’s a way for people to lean in and just fully embrace their emotions and the experiences they’re going through,” she says.

“Sad music can help us to release, express, channel, or purge our emotions,” says Dr. Michael Bonshor, PhD, music psychology expert. “It often has slower speeds, which slows down our breathing and heart rate when we listen so that we feel more relaxed and tranquil. In addition to hearing slower speeds, hearing music with sad lyrics creates a sense of personal connection with the artists who wrote them—it validates that our human experiences are shared.”

Learn About Those Music Genres You May Not Have Heard Of

November 30, 2022

This year, you ventured into the genre-verse—and your 2022 Wrapped experience captured your journey. Did you check out the number of musical styles you explored, and gaze at your favorite five genres? Maybe you were fascinated by a genre name you didn’t know before.

There are thousands of genres out there, including new ones that are created each year. The way we see it, coming up with new names or groupings for genres gives us loose categorizations to identify emerging genres or remodel familiar ones so they are more recognizable, representative, and holistic to our listeners and their communities.

Genres like those listed in your Spotify Wrapped allow you to better identify the types of music that get you moving, catch your feels, or enable you to focus—and then find more of the same. Since music is made up of infinite types of sounds, styles, instruments, and lyrics, you can use the constellation of genres to help identify and define the sounds you like most.

Celebrate the Holidays With the Bittersweet Sounds of Our First Sad Sierreño Spotify Singles Collection

November 23, 2022

In Mexico, the holiday season begins with the traditional posadas, a celebration with family, friends, star-shaped piñatas, warm fruit punch, and of course, villancicos or Christmas carols. This year, Spotify is celebrating this tradition with the first-ever sad sierreño edition of Holiday Spotify Singles.

Sierreño is folk music from Mexico’s northern mountain range region that is best known for nostalgic ballads performed with acoustic guitars. This year there’s been a resurgence of the genre with a Gen Z twist that has formed a new classification: sad sierreño. Sad sierreño is represented by a generation of young Mexican American artists and is distinguished by a bedroom pop production style ethos and sound, resulting in songs about love and heartbreak with an angsty edge.

The collection includes “Triste Navidad” from DannyLux, a sad Christmas song that echoes Elvis’s “Blue Christmas.” The artist, Daniel Balderrama Espinoza, is originally from California and imprints new-wave influences on the traditional sierreño.

Eslabon Armado, a trio formed by the brothers Pedro and Bryan Tovar with Gabriel Hidalgo, recorded a version of “Blanca Navidad” with the classic plucked guitars of sierreño and their trademark vocal harmonies. The trio has 7.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify and their album Nostalgia ranked among the most-streamed new releases globally earlier this year. When they were kids, the Tovar brothers listened to the classic Christmas songs of Vicente Fernandez on the radio.

“We chose to do this song because we are big fans of Luis Miguel, who famously made an album with Christmas songs,” Pedro, the lead singer and lyricist of Eslabon Armado, told For the Record. “We have always liked ‘Blanca Navidad’ but we added our style of guitars and bass to this version.”

Los Aptos, a trio from Fort Wayne, Indiana, delivered “Por Ti,” an emotional romantic ballad with a bittersweet taste of nostalgia that invades the holiday season.

Conexión Divina is the first all-female sierreño trio, formed by Mexican American artists Liz, Sandra, and Ashlee, currently based in Los Angeles. For this collection, they recorded “Cómo Poder Olvidar,” an upbeat track that combines heartbreak lyrics with soft guitars.

Finally, Eduardo Granado Rojas, better known as ERRE, originally from Phoenix, Arizona, rendered “Solo en Navidad,” a track with melancholic lyrics and an indie sound that stands out for a guitar with reverb over acoustic guitar harmony.

Eduardo’s mother gave him his first guitar for Christmas when he was 11 years old. He drew on inspiration from artists like Ariel Camacho and Los Plebes Del Rancho to learn to play Mexican music on his guitar.

“As a child I listened to the music that my family liked, which were songs like “Navidad Sin Ti” by Los Bukis or songs that came out on the radio and in stores during the holidays,” said ERRE. “I chose this song because the lyrics have a meaning that many people can identify with. In a season that couples enjoy a lot, one can feel lonely for not being able to have that person with whom to have that New Year’s kiss or that affection during the holidays.”

Listen to all the tracks in our sad sierreño playlist.

Celebra la navidad con los sonidos agridulces de nuestra primera colección de Spotify Singles de Sad Sierreño

November 23, 2022

En México, la temporada navideña comienza con las tradicionales posadas, una celebración con familiares, amigos, piñatas en forma de estrella, ponche caliente y, por supuesto, villancicos. Este año, Spotify celebra esta tradición con la primera edición sad sierreño de Spotify Singles.

El sierreño es un género de música folclórica de la región montañosa del norte de México que es conocido por baladas nostálgicas interpretadas con guitarras acústicas. Recientemente ha habido un resurgimiento del género con un giro generación Z que ha formado una nueva clasificación: sad sierreño. Este nuevo subgénero está representado por una generación de jóvenes artistas mexicano-estadounidenses y se distingue por un estilo y un sonido de producción bedroom-pop, lo que da como resultado canciones sobre el amor y el desamor con un toque de ansiedad adolescente.

La colección incluye “Triste Navidad‘ de DannyLux, una triste canción navideña que recuerda a “Blue Christmas” de Elvis. El artista, Daniel Balderrama Espinoza, es originario de California e imprime su sonido con influencias new wave al tradicional sierreño.

Eslabon Armado, trío formado por los hermanos Pedro y Bryan Tovar con Gabriel Hidalgo, grabó una versión de “Blanca Navidad” con las clásicas guitarras pulsadas del sierreño y sus características armonías vocales. El trío tiene 7,2 millones de oyentes mensuales en Spotify y su álbum Nostalgia se clasificó entre los nuevos lanzamientos más reproducidos a nivel mundial a principios de este año. Cuando eran niños, los hermanos Tovar escuchaban en la radio las clásicas canciones navideñas de Vicente Fernández.

“Elegimos hacer esta canción porque somos grandes admiradores de Luis Miguel, quien hizo un famoso álbum con canciones navideñas”, dijo a For the Record Pedro, el cantante principal y letrista de Eslabon Armado. “Siempre nos ha gustado ‘Blanca Navidad’ pero le agregamos nuestro estilo de guitarras y bajo a esta versión”.

Los Aptos, un trío de Fort Wayne, Indiana, entregó “Por Ti”, una emotiva balada romántica con un sabor agridulce de nostalgia que invade la temporada navideña.

Conexión Divina es el primer trío sierreño exclusivamente femenino, formado por las artistas mexicano-estadounidenses Liz, Sandra y Ashlee, que actualmente residen en Los Ángeles, California. Para esta colección, grabaron “Cómo Poder Olvidar”, un tema alegre que combina letras desgarradoras con guitarras suaves.

Finalmente, Eduardo Granado Rojas, más conocido como ERRE, originario de Phoenix, Arizona, rindió “Solo en Navidad”, un tema de letra melancólica y sonido indie que se destaca por una guitarra eléctrica sobre la armonía de la guitarra acústica.

La madre de Eduardo le regaló su primera guitarra por Navidad cuando tenía 11 años. Se inspiró en artistas como Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes Del Rancho para aprender a tocar música mexicana en su guitarra.

“De niño escuchaba la música que le gustaba a mi familia, que eran canciones como “Navidad Sin Ti” de Los Bukis o canciones que salían en la radio y en las tiendas durante las fiestas”, dijo ERRE. “Elegí esta canción porque la letra tiene un significado con el que mucha gente se puede identificar. En una temporada que las parejas disfrutan mucho, uno puede sentirse solo por no poder tener a esa persona con quien tener ese beso de fin de año o ese cariño durante las fiestas”.

Escucha todos los tracks en nuestra playlist sad sierreño.

A New Generation of Artists Is Reinventing Mexican Music and Captivating Listeners Around the World

September 16, 2022

Spotify data tells the story of a genre that has emerged as an unstoppable cultural force. At the end of August, worldwide Mexican music listening on Spotify grew by 56% annually, doubling the growth rate of the previous two years. And since 2019, the volume of streams has more than doubled to reach 5.6 billion.

To celebrate this movement, we’re launching a new campaign titled “México es imparable. Reprodúcelo.” At its center are three short films that celebrate artists such as Eduin Caz from the banda septet Grupo Firme, and Julión Álvarez and Yahritza y su Esencia, whose music inspires a generation that returns to its roots to generate different identities.

A genre that brings together a diversity of rhythms such as banda, norteño, sierreño, grupero, and mariachi, Mexican music is becoming one of the fastest-growing local genres on the platform. For reference, the amount of streams of the genre amounts to two-thirds of the volume of reggaeton streams on Spotify.

In Mexico, one in every four music streams is a Mexican music track. In the United States, Mexican music ranks among the fastest-growing genres. Beyond the traditional strongholds, Mexican music artists are filling ever-larger concert venues in Latin American countries like Colombia and reaching new audiences in geographically remote countries like Chile.

All over the world, industry insiders and fans are wondering why.

Collaboration without boundaries

One key factor that explains the recent revival of Mexican music is that the genre has attracted stars from other genres, like reggaeton, trap, or hip-hop. These crossover artists have embraced the high-pitched guitar requintos that are a staple of corridos, and the wind instruments of banda music to create pop hits.

The number of collaborations between Mexican artists and international artists in the last two years reached 31,000. Which might explain why last year, 66 million listeners on Spotify discovered Mexican music for the first time outside of Mexico.

“Urban Latin music, in its expansion into the mainstream and the exploration of paths towards all kinds of genres, influenced Mexican music artists to make more collaborations,” Alejandro Grageda, Spotify Artist and Label Partnership Lead for Mexico, tells For the Record.

“The ability to find new audiences around the world, in addition to the data and best practices that Spotify for Artists offers, have served as a catalyst to accelerate these collaborations and contribute to the expansion of Mexican music.”

Collaborations have offered discovery opportunities to new fans around the world. Consider Colombian reggaeton-pop ensemble Piso 21 collaborating with Christian Nodal in “Pa’ Olvidarme de Ella.” It’s their third-most-streamed track to date, and 80% of streams come from Mexican fans. Bad Bunny’s collaboration with Natanael Cano on the 2019 remix of “Soy el Diablo” increased the latter’s streams by 172% in one week after its release. Spanish trap star C. Tangana in “CAMBIA!”—his version of a corrido tumbado—introduced Carin Leon and Adriel Favela to fans in Spain.

The trend has only deepened, as evidenced by recent releases such as Camilo alongside Grupo Firme on “Alaska,” which performed better than their other songs in countries like Colombia and Chile. There’s also bachata star Romeo Santos duetting with Christian Nodal on “Me Extraño,” which is distinctively popular with Mexican fans. Despite Romeo having similarly sized fanbases in Mexico and America, Mexicans have streamed the song twice as many times as American fans.

Remixing traditions

Mexican music’s rise in popularity can also be attributed to a new wave of artists who are reinventing their musical traditions and generating sounds that connect with young listeners.

“In Mexico, Christian Nodal and other young artists revolutionized mainstream music by breaking with the conventions of the genre,” says Uriel Waizel, Editor Lead for Spotify in Mexico. “At the same time, a generation of Mexican American artists draw on their own musical roots and dominant cultures, such as hip-hop. The result is an original sound and a narrative that reaffirms the identity of its generation within a multicultural landscape.”

Two genres in particular have captivated Gen Z fans: corridos and sierreño. Some nostalgia animates the resurgence of these genres, but their bucolic flavor has given way to an aesthetic and themes that are closer to urban genres such as hip-hop and reggaeton.

Corridos Tumbados combine guitar requintos with bass-heavy trap beats, which can be heard in songs from Natanael Cano and Junior H. Their more melodic variant, sad sierreño, is represented by acts like Yahritza Y Su Esencia as well as the duet Eslabon Armado, which consists of brothers Pedro and Brian Tovar.

Grupo Firme also changed the game by mixing banda and norteño style with contemporary rhythms and ditching the traditional sombreros for a unique glam style. The band has achieved cult status for their epic live performances in stadiums across Mexico and the United States and a devotion that reaches K-Pop levels of fandom.

“The mix of sounds in Grupo Firme’s music has been something very important because many doors have been opened. The stereotypes that Mexican music had have been broken, and fusions have been made with artists from other genres,” says Eduin.

As Mexican music finds ways to connect with new fans across generations and borders, we’ve loved watching its rapid rise across the globe. And through campaigns like “México es imparable. Repordúcelo,” we’ll continue to spotlight the artists and songs who are turning this genre into a global powerhouse.

Discover MEXCLA, the Spotify hub dedicated to Mexican music and its forays into other musical genres, and the playlist that brings together the best fusions.

Una nueva generación de artistas está reinventando la música mexicana y cautivando a oyentes en todo el mundo

September 16, 2022

Los datos de Spotify cuentan la historia de un género que se ha convertido en una fuerza cultural imparable. A finales de agosto, la escucha mundial de música mexicana en Spotify creció un 56% anual, duplicando la tasa de crecimiento de los dos años anteriores. Y desde 2019, el volumen de streams se ha más que duplicado para alcanzar los 5,600 millones.

Para celebrar este movimiento, lanzamos una nueva campaña titulada “México es imparable. Reprodúcelo.” Como eje de la campaña se encuentran tres filmes que celebran a artistas como Eduin Caz de Grupo Firme, Julión Álvarez y Yahritza y su Esencia cuya música inspira a una generación que vuelve a sus raíces para generar diversas identidades.

Como una categoría que reúne una diversidad de ritmos como banda, norteño, sierreño, grupero y mariachi, la música mexicana se está convirtiendo en uno de los géneros locales de mayor crecimiento en la plataforma. Como referencia, la cantidad de streams del género asciende a dos terceras partes del reggaeton en volumen de streams en Spotify.

En México, uno de cada cuatro streams de música es de música mexicana. En Estados Unidos, la música mexicana se ubica entre los géneros de más rápido crecimiento. Más allá de los bastiones tradicionales, los artistas de música mexicana están llenando foros cada vez más grandes en países latinoamericanos como Colombia y alcanzando nuevas audiencias en países tan geográficamente remotos como Chile.

En todo el mundo, los conocedores de la industria y los fanáticos se preguntan por qué.

Colaboración sin fronteras

Un factor clave que explica el renacimiento reciente de la música mexicana es que el género ha atraído a estrellas de otros géneros como el reggaetón, el trap o el hip-hop. Estos artistas han adoptado el requinto de corridos, guitarras acústicas y los instrumentos de viento de la música de banda para crear éxitos pop con beats urbanos.

El número de colaboraciones entre artistas mexicanos y artistas internacionales en los últimos dos años llegó a 31,000. Lo que podría explicar por qué el año pasado, 66 millones de oyentes en Spotify descubrieron la música mexicana por primera vez fuera de México.

“La música latina urbana, en su expansión hacia el mainstream y la exploración de caminos hacia todo tipo de géneros, influenció a los artistas musicales mexicanos para hacer más colaboraciones”, Alejandro Grageda, Spotify Artist and Label Partnership Lead para México, le dice a For the Record.

“La capacidad de encontrar nuevas audiencias alrededor del mundo, además de los datos y las mejores prácticas que ofrece Spotify para Artistas, han servido como catalizador para acelerar estas colaboraciones y contribuir a la expansión de la música mexicana.”, agrega.

Las colaboraciones han ofrecido oportunidades de descubrimiento por parte de nuevos fans de todo el mundo. Ahí está el ensamble colombiano de reggaeton-pop Piso 21 colaborando con Christian Nodal en “Pa’ Olvidarme de Ella”, que es su tercera canción más escuchada hasta la fecha, con el 80% de los streams provenientes de fanáticos mexicanos. La colaboración de Bad Bunny con Natanael Cano en el remix “Soy el Diablo” en 2019, incrementó los streams de este último en un 172% a una semana de su lanzamiento. La estrella del trap español C. Tangana en “CAMBIA!”, su versión de un corrido tumbado, presentó a Carin Leon y Adriel Favela con sus fanáticos en España.

La tendencia solo se ha profundizado como lo demuestran lanzamientos recientes como Camilo junto a Grupo Firme en “Alaska”, que ha sido bien recibida en países como Colombia y Chile, y la estrella de la bachata Romeo Santos, a dúo con Christian Nodal en “Me Extraño”, tema distintivamente popular entre los oyentes mexicanos, agregando el doble de streams que las de los oyentes estadounidenses, lo que destaca considerando que el número de oyentes para Romeo es casi igual en ambos países.

Remezclando tradiciones

Otra gran razón del aumento de la popularidad de la música mexicana se puede atribuir a una nueva ola de artistas que están reinventando sus tradiciones musicales y generando sonidos que conectan con los jóvenes oyentes.

“En México, Christian Nodal y otros jóvenes artistas revolucionaron la música mainstream al romper con las convenciones del género”, dice Uriel Waizel Editor Lead de Spotify en México. “Al mismo tiempo, una generación de artistas mexicano-estadounidenses abreva de sus propias raíces musicales y de culturas como el hip-hop. El resultado es un sonido original y una narrativa que reafirma la identidad de su generación en un entorno multicultural.”

Dos géneros en particular han cautivado a los fans de la Generación Z: los corridos y el sierreño. Cierta nostalgia anima el resurgimiento de estos géneros, pero su sabor bucólico ha dado paso a una estética y temática más cercana a géneros urbanos como el hip-hop y el reggaetón.

Los Corridos Tumbados combinan requintos de guitarra con un groove, bajos pesados y beats del trap, que se pueden escuchar en canciones de Natanael Cano y Junior H. Su variante más melódica, el sad sierreño, está representada por actos como Yahritza Y Su Esencia, así como el dúo Eslabon Armado, integrado por los hermanos Pedro y Brian Tovar.

Grupo Firme también cambió las reglas del juego al mezclar el estilo banda y norteño con ritmos contemporáneos y abandonar los sombreros tradicionales por un estilo glam único. La banda ha alcanzado un estatus de culto por sus épicas presentaciones en vivo en estadios de México y Estados Unidos y una devoción que alcanza los niveles de fandom del K-pop.

“La mezcla de sonidos en la música de Grupo Firme ha sido algo muy importante porque se han abierto muchas puertas. Se han roto los estereotipos que tenía la música mexicana y se han multiplicado las fusiones con artistas de otros géneros”, dice Eduin Caz, líder de Grupo Firme.

A medida que la música mexicana encuentra formas de conectar con nuevos fanáticos a través de generaciones y fronteras, nos emociona ver su rápido ascenso en todo el mundo. Y a través de campañas como “México es imparable. Reprodúcelo”, continuaremos destacando a los artistas y canciones que están convirtiendo este género en una potencia global.

Descubre MEXCLA, el hub de Spotify dedicado a la música mexicana y sus incursiones en otros géneros musicales, y la playlist que reúne las mejores fusions.

Spotify Celebrates the Enduring Legacy and Momentum of Mexican Music With ‘Orgullosos de la Mexcla’ Campaign

May 13, 2022

cover art for spotify playlist sad sierreno

Mexican music has a rich tradition of storytelling. Songs like “La Jaula de Oro” by Los Tigres del Norte or “Corrido de Juanito” by Calibre 50 bridge generations and have the power to culturally connect those who have migrated.

Today, those sounds—which have commonly been referred to as “regional Mexican”—have changed to reflect different communities and cultures. A new generation of Mexican and Mexican American artists like Natanael Cano and Fuerza Regida are blending traditional corridos with hip-hop. Grupo Firme is reinventing the festive sound of banda. And acts like Yahritza y Su Esencia and Eslabon Armado are reviving the sound of sierreño. Together, these styles are loudly reclaiming influence on both sides of the border.

All of these make up a new wave of Mexican music. On Spotify, the genre had over 39 billion streams globally in 2021, fueled by a 39% increase in Mexico and 31% in the United States. In total, this amounted to 150 billion minutes of listening on the platform. In the last five years, listening has increased by 450% globally, and today, one in three listeners of Mexican music is from Gen Z.

A new generation of fans is discovering the music their parents loved and reconciling their musical identity around cultures that once stood apart. To celebrate this unique connection, Spotify has released our latest original film highlighting the evolution of the genre as part of our campaign, “Orgullosos de la Mexcla.”

The film, narrated by Eden Muñoz, depicts the stories of two generations of Mexican culture. Banda MS’s hit “La Casita,” a song Muñoz wrote about migration and nostalgia for the loved ones left behind, plays over vintage video footage paired with old family photos a father carried on his northbound journey. The video then cuts to the man’s son in Mexico City rushing to a skatepark dressed in the style of the new Mexican wave, where cowboy hats give way to baseball caps. The two cultures are visibly merged with the creation of a Blend playlist on screen, representing how borderless the music is today and how it has evolved with new sounds, rhythms, and aesthetics.

Spotify is also expanding our latest Blend feature to allow fans to create a merged playlist with both Eden Muñoz, whose hit “Chale” topped the Spotify Mexico chart, and Banda MS, the all-time most-streamed Mexican group globally in the forthcoming days. This ability to bring fans together with their favorite artists also speaks to the essence of Mexcla.

“The idea of Mexcla has multiple meanings for me,” Muñoz told For the Record. “More than the mixing of sounds we do in the studio, it carries much more meaning when we speak to the fusion of cultures and all the different trends in the music itself.”

To catch up with the fluidity of Mexican music, we’ve created genreless playlists like Los Que Mandan and coined definitions for emerging genres like Sad Sierreño and the fusion of Mexican music with hip-hop in El Barrio MP3, as well as Latin urban in Flow Tumbado. So whether you grew up listening to the classics or are just now discovering what Mexican music has to offer, these playlists are the perfect place to start.

Discover all the new exciting trends in Spotify’s Mexican music hub and listen to flagship playlist La Reina: Éxitos de la Música Mexicana:

Spotify Celebra el Legado y Empuje de la Música Mexicana con la Campaña ‘Orgullosos de la Mexcla’

May 13, 2022

La música mexicana tiene una rica tradición narrativa. Canciones como “La Jaula de Oro” de Los Tigres del Norte o “Corrido de Juanito” de Calibre 50 unen generaciones y tienen el poder de conectar culturalmente a quienes han migrado.

Hoy, esos sonidos, a los que se les ha llamado “regional mexicano,” han cambiado para reflejar diferentes comunidades y culturas. Una nueva generación de artistas mexicanos y mexicoamericanos como Natanael Cano y Fuerza Regida están mezclando corridos tradicionales con hip-hop. Grupo Firme reinventa el sonido festivo de la banda con emoción. Y actos como Yahritza y Su Esencia y Eslabon Armado están reviviendo el sonido del sierreno. Juntos, estos estilos reclaman con fuerza su influencia en ambos lados de la frontera.

Todos estos conforman una nueva ola de la música mexicana. En Spotify, el género tuvo más de 39 mil millones de streams a nivel mundial en 2021, impulsado por un aumento del 39 % en México y del 31 % en Estados Unidos. En total, esto ascendió a 150 mil millones de minutos de escucha en la plataforma. En los últimos cinco años la escucha ha aumentado un 450% a nivel mundial, y hoy en día, uno de cada tres oyentes de música mexicana es de la Generación Z.

Una nueva generación de fanáticos está descubriendo la música que amaban sus padres y reconciliando su identidad musical en torno a culturas que alguna vez estuvieron separadas. Para celebrar esta conexión única, Spotify ha lanzado un cortometraje original que destaca la evolución del género como parte de nuestra campaña, “Orgullosos de la Mexcla”.

El corto, narrado por Eden Muñoz, retrata las historias de dos generaciones de la cultura mexicana. El éxito de Banda MS “La Casita”, una canción que Muñoz escribió sobre la migración y la nostalgia por los seres queridos que quedaron atrás, se reproduce sobre imágenes de video antiguas combinadas con viejas fotos familiares que un padre lleva en su viaje hacia el norte. Luego, el video muestra al hijo del hombre en la Ciudad de México corriendo hacia un skatepark vestido al estilo de la nueva ola mexicana, donde los sombreros de vaquero dan paso a gorras de béisbol. Las dos culturas se fusionan visiblemente con la creación de una playlist Fusión en la pantalla, que representa cuán sin fronteras es la música hoy y cómo ha evolucionado con nuevos sonidos, ritmos y estéticas.

Spotify también está ampliando nuestra innovación Fusión para permitir a los fans crear una playlist con Eden Muñoz, cuyo éxito “Chale” encabezó el chart de Spotify México, y Banda MS, la agrupación mexicana con más escuchada de todos los tiempos a nivel mundial, que estarán disponibles en los próximos días. Esta capacidad de reunir a los fanáticos con sus artistas favoritos también habla de la esencia de Mexcla.

“La idea de Mexcla tiene múltiples significados para mí”, dijo Muñoz a For the Record. “Más que la mezcla de sonidos que hacemos en el estudio, tiene mucho más significado cuando hablamos de la fusión de culturas y todas las diferentes tendencias en la música misma”.

Para ponernos al día con la fluidez de la música mexicana, creamos playlist sin género como Los Que Mandan y acuñamos definiciones para géneros emergentes como Sad Sierreño y la fusión de música mexicana con hip-hop en El Barrio MP3, así como música urbana latina en Flow Tumbado. Entonces, ya sea que creciste escuchando los clásicos o recién ahora estés descubriendo lo que la música mexicana tiene para ofrecer, estas playlists son el lugar perfecto para comenzar.

Descubre todas las nuevas y emocionantes tendencias en el hub de música mexicana de Spotify y escucha la lista de reproducción insignia La Reina: Éxitos de la Música Mexicana.