Many Americans think Latin culture has had a positive influence on American music
Millennials are more likely than other generations to say that they think there should be more Hispanic artists in pop music
When it comes to music and pop culture, many Americans are welcoming of Spanish-language media, while roughly one-third say there should be more Hispanic people in pop music and TV, according to new data from YouGov Omnibus.
Overall, about half (49%) of Americans ever listen to music in languages other than English. When asked which other languages besides English are spoken or sang in the music they listen to, 52% chose Spanish. Among Hispanics living in the US, 85% said Spanish.
Though many people who listen to music in other languages do understand the lyrics, many say that they don’t have to understand the words in order to enjoy the song. Half (50%) of Americans agreed that they can enjoy a song sung in a language they don’t speak or understand, and 24% say rhythm is more important than lyrics in a song.
When it comes to TV, over one third (36%) of Americans watch TV shows broadcast in languages other than English. Of those who watch non-English shows, 47% said Spanish is spoken in the TV programs they watch. For Hispanics living in the US, the number was significantly higher: 79%.
Many Americans have generally positive thoughts about Latin media in the US. Close to half (46%) say that they think Latin music is fun, while a similar number (44%) think that Latin culture has had a positive influence on American pop music. Hispanics living in the US are especially likely to agree with these statements: 69% think Latin music is fun and 65% think Latin culture has positively influenced American pop music.
Millennials ages 18-34 are also more likely than the total population to say Latin music is fun (57%) and that Latin culture has has a positive influence on American pop music (48%).
When it comes to Hispanic representation in American media, many people think there should be more Hispanic artists and actors, though some aren’t so sure.
Millennials are more likely than other generations to say that they think there should be more Hispanic artists in pop music. More than one-third (36%) of millennials said they believed this, compared to 27% of the total population. Over half (51%) of Hispanics living in the US also believed there should be more Hispanic artists in pop music. Overall, one in five (20%) people disagreed with this statement. Men (17%) were considerably more likely than women (10%) to say they “strongly disagreed,” though the most popular response from both men (45%) and women (46%) was “neither agree nor disagree.”
Millennials and Hispanics are also more likely to say there should be more Hispanic actors on popular American TV shows. Forty-two percent of Millennials and 53% of Hispanics agreed with this statement, compared with 32% of the total population. Another 20% of the total population disagreed with this statement, while 41% said they neither agreed nor disagreed.
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