Music at the USMCA negotiations
I am toggling between the World Cup and news about the on-again, off-again USMCA trade (US-Mexico-Canada) trade negotiations. One thing that strikes me is that the flow of music between the three countries – especially Mexico and the US – is evident in the World Cup. The emblem is Shakira, a Columbian/Lebanese living in Miami who is one of the most popular artists in Mexico headlining the World Cup opener in Mexico City.
The music flow between the US and Mexico is a part of the trade talks. The digital trade chapter of the agreement says that digital products such as music, films, and eBooks cannot be hit with customs duties or discriminated against based on where they were created, Yea!! This means cross‑border streaming and downloads of songs is duty, tax, and fee free. But while negotiators weren’t bargaining over, say, specific streaming rates for Spotify, they absolutely are negotiating the legal framework that governs how recorded music, songs, and royalties move among the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
Why? Because music, especially in Mexico, is a big deal.
Mexico is now the world’s third‑largest live‑events market; concerts in Mexico generated about 41.1 billion pesos in 2025 (roughly US$2.3 billion). American bands of all stripes are getting into that pot of pesos as fast as they can.
In 2026, Mexico saw a nonstop parade of US and global headliners, with stadium and arena calendars packed from February onward. Big international stars performing in the country this year include Shakira, The Weekend, Doja Cat, Kali Uchis, AC/DC, P!NK, Harry Styles, Lorde, BTS, System of a Down, My Chemical Romance, Lenny Kravitz, Megadeth, Korn, ZZ Top and whew…too many more to list And who could forget Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny blowing the roof off of Azteca Stadium – and generating hundreds of millions of dollars for everyone involved.
However, while touring is a big deal. much of the music value flowing between the US and Mexico is through streaming. Recent industry estimates suggest that Mexican artists earned more than $350 million USDfrom streams inside the U.S. in 2023- the latest year I could find data for. Given that Mexico’s own music‑streaming market is about $1.25 billion USD this year – third largest in the world -, and is projected to grow to nearly 5 billion by 2031, it is a place for US bands to make money.
And they do. There are no aggregated figures for royalties or streaming revenue paid to US bands from Mexican streams, but Spotify has said that it is paying hundreds of millions of dollars a year in royalties tied to listening in Mexico. Since only a bit more than half of Mexican streaming dollars go to Mexican artists, it’s reasonable to say that foreign acts—U.S. artists especially—collect well over US$100 million annually from Mexican streams across platforms.
In practical terms, that cross‑border money shows up in the careers of artists like Peso Pluma, whose album Génesis and follow‑up corridos keep him on major U.S. festival stages; Fuerza Regida, whose records and U.S. arena tours monetize both Chicano and Mexican audiences; California-born Becky G, who pivots between English‑leaning pop sets and Spanish‑language albums like Esquinas while touring both countries; and global pop names like Shakira and Bad Bunny, whose Spanish‑dominant albums dominate streaming platforms and sell out stadiums from Los Angeles to Veracruz and become vehicles moving revenue, jobs, and culture back and forth across the border.
So what is the bottom line? To me, it is that far as music goes, borders are really non-existent, especially between Mexico and the US. Despite walls, tariffs, ICE, and soldiers, as always, music flows and unites. Now I just hope the negotiators at the USMCA leave it alone.
Photo: Shkaira and her dance crew on the World Cup field. Source: Shakira.com/YouTube official video
Patrick O’Heffernan
