Luminate, the entertainment industry’s most trusted data partner, unveiled its 2026 Midyear Report today covering trends in music, television & film. Fueled by Luminate’s 30 trillion data points from hundreds of verified sources and anchored by the company’s team of expert analysts, the report reflects the most essential and newsworthy trends across the global entertainment industry for the first half of 2026.

Speaking on the report’s findings, Luminate CEO Rob Jonas shared, “This is the first Luminate Midyear Report to combine music with film and television under one cover, because the two businesses no longer live separately as they once did. The music industry wants a clearer read on streaming television and theatrical performance; film and television companies are asking for the reverse.”

From the emergence of a more diverse, global music market to the challenges facing leaders in the streaming space, the report highlights changing consumer behaviors and the evolving economics driving music, television & film.

KEY FINDINGS FROM THE REPORT ACROSS MUSIC & TV/FILM INCLUDE:

Key Streaming & Consumption Metrics:

• Global On-Demand Audio music streams grew +9.8 percent in H1 2026 to 2.8 Trillion
  • This represents a slight acceleration from the 9.6% FY 2025
• Ex-U.S. On-Demand Audio music streams grew +11.8 percent to 2.0 Trillion
  • This represents a slight acceleration from the 11.6% FY 2025
• R&B/Hip-Hop continued to set the U.S. audio streaming pace with approximately 1 in every 4 streams, but faced increased competition from growth genres like Dance / Electronic.

• U.S. CD sales surged 16% to 16.3 million units
  • Stripping out K-pop, CD sales still grew 6.7%
• Netflix’s share of U.S. original viewing time sits at 57%
• U.S. TV premieres down to 517 this half from 930 in 2022
• The documentary The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel drove an 11% jump in the group’s U.S. streams and an 8% jump globally the week it landed on Netflix

“Halfway through 2026, our data shows the entertainment market growing in several directions at once, as audience behavior across music, television & film defies easy assumptions. Streaming is expanding, CDs are surging, younger audiences are returning to theaters, and library and broadcast titles are commanding enormous audiences alongside the newest streaming originals. The entertainment industry is expanding, but not according to a single playbook.”

Rob Jonas, CEO, Luminate 

MUSIC

Music Consumption Metrics:

• U.S. On-Demand Audio streams grew +4.8 percent to 732.7B
  • This represents a slight acceleration from the 4.6% FY 2025
• Dance / Electronic ends the first half of 2026 as the U.S. largest growth genre based on ODA share point change (+.51)
  • John Summit and Disco Lines are leading the charge with current hits while a viral nostalgia trend has driven songs from 2015-2017 (ex. The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey “Closer”)
• World Music leads in Current music streaming
  • 34% of audio streams are from tracks that are 0-18 months old
• Mass Market captured nearly 30% of the physical sales market as K-pop fandom drives this retail channel

Market Diversity:

• Nearly 1 in 10 streams (9.4%; Total On-Demand Audio + Video) in the U.S. was in Spanish
• U.S. casual monthly listenership of the Latin genre climbed to a peak of 54% in Q1 2026
• English-language consumption fell to a new low of 87.1%

• American artists command over two-thirds of U.S. streams
• The U.K. grew its U.S. streaming share by +0.8 percentage points to 7.8%; Australia and Puerto Rico grew share as well inside the U.S.
• Switzerland is the most diverse music market while India is the least diverse based on the percentage of streaming that comes from non-local artists and the number of countries that make up 90% of streaming
• South Korea and Brazil rise in Export Power Rankings to #3 and #8, respectively, as BTS drives South Korea and Alok and Annita drive Brazil

“We are witnessing a structural realignment in language and borders, demonstrating that mainstream music success is no longer anchored to a single market. In the U.S., English-language streaming fell to a historic low of 87.1%, while Spanish-language consumption climbed to nearly one in 10 streams. This global diversification is highlighted in our Export Power Rankings, where South Korea reached No. 3 on the strength of BTS and Brazil continued its steady multi-year ascent.” 

Jaime Marconette, VP, Music Insights & Industry Relations, Luminate

Majors, Indies, Musicians & Creators:

• Major labels control the highest U.S. audio streaming tiers but the independent sector is growing its streaming share and presence throughout the middle and lower volume tiers

• 54% of U.S. musicians show positive feelings and acceptance toward gen AI tools in music, compared with 35% of non-musicians
• Luminate analysis indicates the highest ranking AI-assisted song Globally is Chill77, Unjaps “Papaoutai (Afro Soul)” at #282 Globally (210.7M Global audio streams Weeks 1-24 2026 )
• 18% of U.S. musicians report using AI to edit or remix existing music, while only 6% of non-musicians do

“At this stage, AI tools are actively transforming creative and production workflows, but individual AI-generated tracks have yet to make a profound, long-term impact on consumption behavior.”

Jaime Marconette, VP, Music Insights & Industry Relations, Luminate

Paid and Free Fandom:

• 20% of U.S. music listeners are considered superfans, meaning they engage with artists and music in 5 or more ways
• Purchase and Engagement Based Superfandom

• 22% of all music listeners qualify as purchase-based superfans
• 17% qualify as engagement-based superfans
• 11% represent the ultimate overlap of being both purchase- and engagement-based superfans
• Gen Z and Millennials overindex heavily in engagement-based superfandom at a combined 63%

• 42% of purchase-based and 39% of engagement-based fans report a household income over $100K, versus just 26% of total music listeners
• CD sales surged 16% to 16.3 million units in the first half of 2026, vastly outpacing vinyl’s modest 2.4% growth
  • After removing K-pop sales, U.S. CD sales would still be +6.7% through the first half of 2026

“At the halfway point in 2026, music industry benchmarks show an industry continuing to expand its global footprint, with audio streaming up nearly 10% worldwide and physical formats surging domestically. Dance/Electronic has emerged as the year’s leading U.S. growth genre, driven by current hits and a nostalgia-fueled spike in 2015–2017 catalog tracks. This parallels a 16% surge in CD sales, fueled by collectible K-pop releases. The mechanics of modern music consumption are shifting toward culture-driven growth and community engagement.” 

Jaime Marconette, VP, Music Insights & Industry Relations, Luminate

TV & FILM

Streaming Engagement:

• Netflix’s share of U.S. original content viewing time (57%) slipped year over year among the major SVODs, while Prime Video and HBO Max made the biggest gains
• Total U.S. original content hours streamed down slightly from 1H 2025 but still well ahead of 2023 and 2024
• Nearly 19,000 library titles are available on major services in the U.S., versus just 7,000 originals
• TV viewers estimate spending nearly 60% of their time watching or rewatching content more than one year old, with the remaining 43% spent on new content shortly after it comes out
• A hypothetical combined “ParaMax” platform captured 20% of total U.S. hours streamed for platform and parent network originals, behind Netflix’s 40%

“While major streaming platforms capture headlines for multimillion-dollar original projects, library catalog titles drive the overwhelming majority of sustained platform consumption. Audiences reliably look to older content to occupy their time, estimating that nearly 60% of their at-home viewing is dedicated to content more than one year old.” 

Tyler Aquilina, Media Analyst, Luminate

Television Trends:

• U.S.-produced TV premieres in H1 fell 15% year over year
• SVOD series volume posted a 12% decline

• Viewership for HBO Max series ‘The Pitt’ topped all original SVOD series by a wide margin, with second season driving renewed audience to the first season as well
• But newly available Luminate data tracking current broadcast originals on SVOD found that engagement levels for two CBS series eclipsed that of ‘Pitt’ S2

“‘The Pitt’ has cemented itself as a streaming powerhouse, with sustained, heightened viewership for both seasons over many weeks driving it to massive engagement heights. But the success newer broadcast network originals are having on SVOD platforms is notable: CBS titles ‘Marshals’ and ‘Tracker’ surpassed ‘The Pitt’ Season 2 in minutes watched during the first half of 2026, despite persistent narratives about broadcast television’s decline.” 

Tyler Aquilina, Media Analyst at Luminate

Film Focus:

• Streaming original films accounted for seven of the top 10 most-streamed titles in H1 2026, reversing years of dominance from theatricals on SVOD

• Nearly 70% of both Gen Z and Millennial movie watchers reported seeing  two or more films in theaters within three months
• More than half of Boomers and 36% of Gen X who watch movies reported not going to a theater at all
• Among U.S. consumers who stream movies, just 36% said they would be unlikely to see a film they planned to view in theaters if they knew it would be available to stream 45 days after its theatrical release

“Straight-to-streaming films had a resurgence after years of losing out to theatrical titles on SVOD, likely in part because many consumers are once again turning to movie theaters to view theatrical films. Younger generations are driving that return to in-person moviegoing, with Gen Z and Millennials attending theaters frequently, as well as reporting the strongest demand for more original films.”

Tyler Aquilina, Media Analyst, Luminate