Music embodies the essence of a nation’s culture. When local artists break out, they become sources of pride for their communities. Yet, streaming data reveals a striking divide: while India overwhelmingly supports its homegrown talent, other countries flood their charts with international hits. Why do some nations passionately protect their musical identity while others embrace global sounds?
To explore this, the piano learning app Skoove teamed up with data experts DataPulse Research to analyze Spotify’s Top 200 weekly charts across 73 countries for 59 weeks. The result shows which countries streamed local artists versus international acts, revealing how much each of their ‘Top 200’ is dominated by homegrown talent compared to global performers. This page presents the global overview; see also our deep-dives on United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Japan, and South Korea.
Key findings: A world divided by music
- In 36 of 73 countries, local artists make up less than 30% of the national charts. Most of these nations stream more music from a single foreign country than from all their local artists combined. That’s nearly half of all countries studied, highlighting widespread cultural colonization through streaming.
- Costa Rica stands alone as the only country with zero local artists in its Top 200, completely overshadowed by Puerto Rican (33%) and Colombian (28%) imports.
- Language plays a role. Countries with fewer globally spoken languages have more local music dominance. Linguistically “isolated” countries like Finland, Vietnam, and Italy see 70–85% of their charts filled with local artists. Meanwhile, English-speaking countries struggle: Irish artists make up only 9% of the Top 200 in their home country, and New Zealand has just 1%.
- Puerto Rican artists achieve extraordinary reach across Latin America, despite the island’s small population of 3.2 million. Puerto Rican artists capture 38% of the audience in El Salvador, 35% in Honduras, 30% in Spain, while even besting reggaeton’s supposed birthplace, Panama.
- Global charts are increasingly consistent. The same 20 artists, from Billie Eilish to Bruno Mars, dominate charts across most global markets, creating a uniform “global playlist” that sounds remarkably similar whether you’re in Seoul, São Paulo, or Stockholm.
- American music reaches nearly every corner of the world, appearing in the top 5 in 70 of 73 countries while holding 79% of its domestic charts, a rare feat of global and local dominance.
- Shocking cultural reversals expose national myths: The UK streams more American (55%) than British (29%) music. Pakistan streams more Indian (55%) than Pakistani (26%) despite tensions. Portugal imports more from Brazil (31%) than it plays Portuguese artists (20%).
The global music ecosystem: Exporters, importers, and the self-sufficient
The data highlights a fascinating global music ecosystem in which countries play distinctly different roles. Some export their artists worldwide, others import almost everything they consume, while a select few maintain strong domestic music scenes. This detailed breakdown shows exactly who listens to whom:
The data reveals three distinct music ecosystems across 73 countries, defined by how much local music they stream:
The music exporters: Global powerhouses
A handful of countries dominate global playlists far beyond their borders. The United States leads this exclusive club, with American artists commanding 20-50% of streaming charts in dozens of countries. But the U.S. isn’t alone: South Korea exports K-pop worldwide, Puerto Rico dominates Latin America with reggaeton, and the UK still punches above its weight in English-speaking markets. These nations don’t just make music; they shape global taste.
- United States: The undisputed king of music exports, appearing in the top 5 sources for 70 of 73 countries. American artists capture 76% of Canada’s charts, 69% of Australia’s, 69% of New Zealand’s, and even 55% of the UK’s.
- Puerto Rico: Puerto Rican artists claim 38% of El Salvador’s charts, 38% of Venezuela’s, 35% of Honduras’, 33% of Costa Rica’s, and even 30% of Spain’s, dominating both sides of the Atlantic through reggaeton’s unstoppable rise.
- South Korea: K-pop’s strategic global expansion shows in the numbers. Korean artists command 36% of Taiwan’s streaming charts, 29% of Hong Kong’s, and appear in the top 5 for 20 countries globally. This positions K-pop as the second most successful non-English music export, following Latin reggaeton.
- United Kingdom: The UK appears in the top 5 for 41 countries. British acts capture 16% of New Zealand’s charts, 15% of Australia’s, and 24% of Ireland’s. Yet paradoxically, the UK itself gives more chart presence to American (55%) than British music (29%).
- Colombia: Colombian artists dominate across Latin America, claiming 29% of Ecuador’s charts, 28% of Costa Rica’s, 25% of Peru’s, and 26% of Venezuela’s. Karol G, Maluma, and Feid have made Colombia the second-largest force in Latin American music after Puerto Rico.
Surprising cultural dependencies
Beyond the obvious importers, our data reveals unexpected cultural dependencies that challenge national stereotypes:
- United Kingdom (29% local): The birthplace of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones now streams 55% American music, nearly twice its own. Despite its massive cultural legacy, the UK has become a net importer of music.
- Pakistan (26% local): In a striking reversal of political tensions, Pakistan streams more Indian music (55%) than Pakistani. Bollywood’s soft power transcends borders and conflicts.
- Ireland (9% local): The land of U2 and traditional folk gives 57% of chart positions to American artists. Irish acts capture less than 9% of their own national charts.
- Portugal (20% local): Former colonial power Portugal now sources 31% of its chart music from Brazil. Its former colony commands 50% more presence than local Portuguese artists.
- Taiwan (21% local): South Korean music (36%) dominates Taiwan more than Taiwanese artists do, showing K-pop’s incredible regional dominance.
- Spain (28% local): Surprisingly, Puerto Rico (30%) edges out Spanish artists in Spain itself. Colombian artists add another 14%, making Spain more of a Latin music importer than a domestic market.
- Norway (34% local): The U.S. commands 35% of Norwegian charts, more than Norwegian artists themselves. A rare case of a wealthy Nordic country preferring foreign music.
- New Zealand (1% local): An extreme anglophone case with 69% U.S. music and 16% UK. Kiwi artists barely register at just over 1% in their own country.
Why do countries love (or ignore) their local artists?
After analyzing 73 countries’ streaming patterns, we sought to understand what drives these dramatic differences. Why do local artists dominate 85% of India’s charts while barely reaching 2% in Austria?
Our research points to several interconnected factors, with language emerging as an important predictor.
There’s a moderate negative correlation (r=–0.52) between how widely a language is spoken globally and local music streaming. When fewer people speak a language globally, there’s less international content in that language to compete with local artists.
This linguistic pattern manifests in what we call “fortress markets.” Finland, with only 5.5 million Finnish speakers worldwide, maintains its cultural sovereignty through language barriers. India leverages both Hindi’s 600+ million speakers and its diverse regional languages to reach 85% local dominance. Meanwhile, countries sharing widely spoken languages face an avalanche of foreign competition. Ireland’s local artists capture only 8% of their own charts, competing against the combined output of the U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia.
The most extreme cases reveal how language can either protect or expose local music scenes. Costa Rica stands alone with zero local artists on its charts, completely dominated by Spanish-language hits from Mexico, Colombia, and Puerto Rico. Yet the United States and Mexico prove this isn’t destiny—market size, cultural identity, and robust local music infrastructure can override linguistic competition.
Beyond language: Other key factors
While language patterns explain roughly 27% of the variation in local music support (based on the correlation coefficient), other factors play crucial roles:
- Market Size Matters: The United States defies the language pattern with 79% local artist dominance despite 1.5 billion English speakers worldwide. Its massive domestic market of 330 million people with high streaming adoption can sustain a thriving local industry even with global competition.
- Cultural Policy: France’s 40% radio quota law requiring French-language content correlates with 60% local artist presence on charts, significantly higher than comparable European markets. Government intervention can tilt the playing field.
- Regional Hubs: Puerto Rico and Colombia have become Latin American music exporters, dominating neighbors’ charts through cultural similarity. Geography and shared culture create sub-global markets within language groups.
- Genre Traditions: Countries with distinctive music styles show stronger local chart presence regardless of language. K-pop’s unique production system keeps South Korea at 77%. Bollywood’s film-music integration maintains India at 85%.
- Platform Demographics: Spotify’s penetration varies by country. In markets where Spotify users skew young and urban, international pop dominates. Where it reaches broader demographics, local tastes emerge more strongly.
The streaming era presents a paradox: platforms designed to eliminate borders have instead revealed how language, culture, and geography still shape our musical worlds. Your taste isn’t just personal preference; it’s influenced by the language you speak, the policies your government sets, and the cultural context you inhabit.
The algorithm factor: How playlists shape national taste
Behind every stream lies an invisible force: the algorithm. While language and culture create the foundation for musical preferences, streaming platforms’ recommendation systems act as powerful amplifiers, reinforcing local musical identity or accelerating its erosion. Recent Spotify research confirms that local artist recommendations generate “significantly higher rates of user engagement,” particularly among younger listeners.
The amplification engine
Algorithms don’t just reflect cultural preferences; they actively shape them. When users in India, Turkey, or Vietnam stream predominantly local artists, recommendation systems learn to surface more domestic content, creating what researchers call “cultural fortress markets.” This self-reinforcing cycle helps explain why these nations top our rankings with 85%, 83%, and 83% local music consumption, respectively. Academic research from 2024 reveals that current algorithms often “over-recommend” popular Western music, but markets with strong local listening create natural resistance to this bias.
Landing on Spotify’s “Today’s Top Hits” can significantly boost an artist’s streams, but these editorial playlists predominantly feature artists from dominant markets. This creates a bifurcated world: in strong local markets like India or Italy, algorithms reinforce domestic dominance; in smaller markets like Costa Rica or Luxembourg, the same algorithms can completely erase local artists from their own charts.
Regional algorithm dynamics
The algorithm’s influence varies dramatically by region. In linguistically distinct markets such as India or Turkey, recommendation systems naturally lean toward domestic content. In shared-language regions, however, local artists face an algorithmic avalanche. An Irish musician competes not only at home but against the entire English-speaking music ecosystem. Industry analysis emphasizes that “locality shapes what we listen to” and regional preferences remain crucial even within global streaming.
While algorithms amplify existing patterns, our data reveals complexity beyond simple formulas. The top five countries—India (85%), Turkey (83%), Vietnam (83%), Italy (83%), and Japan (81%)—all maintain exceptional local music dominance despite vastly different linguistic and geographic contexts. Italy and Japan’s strong showings alongside linguistically isolated markets like India and Vietnam suggest that genre strength (Italian hip-hop, J-pop’s ecosystem) and cultural identity can be just as powerful as language barriers. As Spotify’s 2024 trends report notes, streaming platforms simultaneously enable local scenes while spreading them globally, a paradox where algorithms can either build walls or bridges, depending on how listeners engage with them.
And as we’ll see next, while algorithms protect local artists in fortress markets, they create something else entirely in the rest of the world: a remarkably uniform international playlist. When countries do stream foreign music, whether it’s India’s remaining 15% or Costa Rica’s entire 100%, they choose almost exactly the same artists.
The global monopoly: Same artists everywhere
The international portion converges on the same artists
Here’s what’s striking: while countries wildly differ in how much local music they stream—from India’s 85% to Costa Rica’s 0%—the international music they choose is remarkably uniform. A small group of artists dominates charts from Seoul to São Paulo, from Mumbai to Montreal. This convergence reveals how streaming creates global musical monocultures.
We analyzed Spotify’s Top 200 charts across 73 countries, grouping them into seven global regions. For each artist, we calculated their share of streams per region and ranked them by median regional scores. This method identifies which artists achieve the strongest overall global presence.
The results reveal a striking pattern: The same core group of artists dominates most global markets, with U.S. pop and hip-hop acts like Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars, and Sabrina Carpenter achieving unprecedented reach.
These artists succeed partly because they transcend the language barriers we identified: through English dominance or, in K-pop’s case, production styles that work across languages. British, Canadian, and Australian artists benefit from the same English-language algorithmic advantage.
Despite earning the highest total streams globally, Bad Bunny doesn’t make the top 20 for worldwide consistency. His dominance in Latin and North America doesn’t extend to Asia or Africa, showing how algorithms create regional silos while pushing the same “global” acts everywhere. Similarly, legendary artists like The Beatles or Bob Dylan might have a lasting cultural impact, but don’t appear here because they lack a consistent streaming presence across all seven global regions today. The “global monopoly” consists only of artists charting simultaneously everywhere, from Asian to African to Latin American markets, during our study period (2024-2025).
This uniformity reveals streaming’s paradox: algorithms create two distinct worlds. Local artists thrive in fortress markets like India or Italy, where they have 80%+ dominance. But these same global hits completely saturate playlists in smaller markets without linguistic barriers or critical mass. Costa Rica’s charts data shows the extreme. The algorithms don’t universally crush local scenes; they amplify whatever pattern already exists, creating winner-take-all dynamics where the strong get stronger and the weak disappear entirely.
The future of music in a divided world
Our analysis reveals an unexpected truth: platforms designed to create a global marketplace have instead reinforced local preferences. India’s 85% dedication to homegrown artists versus Costa Rica’s zero represents the extreme poles of musical identity in the streaming age.
The streaming era offers both opportunity and challenge. While distribution has never been easier, achieving cross-border success grows harder. Algorithms widen gaps between local heroes and global superstars.
“The game has completely changed. It used to be about building a following, town by town, with your sound echoing in local clubs. Now, the echo chamber is a global playlist. You’re not trying to win over a city anymore; you’re trying to please an algorithm. It’s a fantastic way to reach the entire world, but you have to wonder what unique sounds get lost in that global translation.”
For artists, the path forward may not involve chasing global dominance but embracing their role as cultural ambassadors. As Clark observes, the challenge now is navigating a world where algorithms determine reach and playlists replace local radio while preserving the unique sounds that make each culture’s music distinctive.
The data confirms what listeners intuitively know: people gravitate toward music rooted in familiar culture and language. Streaming can take artists everywhere, but their voice must come from somewhere.
In this landscape, your taste isn’t just personal preference; it’s shaped by the language you speak, the algorithms that serve you, and the culture you inhabit. The promise of unlimited choice has evolved into a complex reality where technology and tradition intertwine to create our soundtracks.
Methodology
The study was conducted using data from the top 200 songs streamed weekly on Spotify in 73 countries. The data covers every week from May 23, 2024, to July 10, 2025. The countries are predominantly located in Europe, the Americas, and East Asia, with a handful of countries from the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Central Asia.
We analyzed chart performance using a points system: The No. 1 song received 200 points, No. 2 received 199 points, and so on. This allows us to weight chart position appropriately – a #1 hit counts more than a #200 track. The percentages shown throughout this report represent each country’s or artist’s share of total points, which effectively measures their share of Top 200 streaming activity weighted by chart position.
For songs with multiple artists, every artist on the track received the full points for that rank. For example, if a number one song featured three artists, each of those three artists was awarded 200 points.
Artists were analyzed by their country of origin, not the location of their record label, agents, or other business affiliations.
Finally, for every country, we calculated the percentage of chart positions occupied by “local” artists (from the home country) versus “foreign” artists (from other countries). By comparing these numbers, we could rank countries by their support for local music and see what kinds of music people prefer from outside their own borders.
Worldwide chart dominance study
Once we had the calculations for each country, we dug into individual artists to see who is the most globally ubiquitous.
Using the same raw data set, we aggregated the country data into seven regions: Europe; eastern Asia; southern, central and western Asia; northern America (U.S. and Canada); southern and central America (including Mexico); Oceania; and Africa. From this, we calculated each artist’s chart presence in each region. This allowed us to see the percentage of streaming activity each artist captured across the seven different parts of the world.
From this data, we could see that some superstar artists were enormously popular but only in one or two regions. Therefore, to assess artists’ reach around the entire world, we ranked the artists by their median score among the seven regions. Notably, huge artists like Bad Bunny (the artist with the most total chart points globally) do not make it into the top 25 music monoculture stars because they are not ubiquitous: They dominate in some regions and have minimal presence in others.
Language correlation analysis
To understand the relationship between language and local music support, we mapped each country to its primary official or most widely spoken language. We then obtained estimates of global speakers for each language from linguistic databases. Using Pearson correlation analysis, we calculated the relationship between the number of global speakers (log-transformed due to the wide range from millions to billions) and the percentage of local music support in each country.
The resulting correlation coefficient of -0.52 indicates a moderate negative relationship, meaning that countries with fewer global speakers of their language tend to stream more local music. This correlation is statistically significant (p < 0.001) and explains approximately 27% of the variation in local music preferences across countries (R² = 0.27). However, notable exceptions like the United States and Mexico demonstrate that market size and cultural factors can override linguistic patterns.
Study by: Skoove & DataPulse Research
Edited by: Susana Pérez Posada
With over seven years of piano education and a deep passion for music therapy, Susana brings a unique blend of expertise to Skoove. A graduate in Music Therapy from SRH Hochschule Heidelberg and an experienced classical pianist from Universidad EAFIT, she infuses her teaching with a holistic approach that transcends traditional piano lessons. Susana’s writings for Skoove combine her rich musical knowledge with engaging storytelling, enriching the learning experience for pianists of all levels. Away from the piano, she loves exploring new places and immersing herself in a good book, believing these diverse experiences enhance her creative teaching style.
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