The “best” music largely depends on individual taste, but after extensive research and analysis, the United States is a global leader in music production.
Native Americans were the first inhabitants of the US, with settlers from various countries like United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Germany, France and West African slaves introducing new musical styles and instruments.
Today, America is known for pioneering a vast range of genres and shaping culture, lingo, and fashion through music.
Why does the USA have the best music in the world?
To determine a country’s impact on music, we look at factors like genre diversity, global and cultural influence, industry awards, and historical contributions. The U.S. excels in all these areas.
1. Created new sounds
One reason for America’s musical dominance is its constant creation of new sounds and genres; for example, punk started from folk, and hip hop came out of funk.
2. The largest music market
The U.S. music market is also the largest in the world, estimated at $15.1 billion in 2016—more than triple the size of any other country’s market.
The U.S. is home to six of the ten highest-grossing venues, including a massive stadium in Arlington, Texas, that can hold up to 105,000 people and hosts everything from Dallas Cowboys games to major concerts of Taylor Swift and Beyonce.
3. The world’s biggest artists
![Michael Jackson is arguably the biggest artist to have ever lived [NewYorkTimes]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'790'%20height%3D'526'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Michael Jackson is arguably the biggest artist to have ever lived [NewYorkTimes]")
The country has produced some of the world’s most iconic artists, such as Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Marvin Gaye, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Drake and Taylor Swift.
4. The world’s biggest labels
The U.S. is also home to the world’s largest record labels—Universal, Sony, and Warner—as well as leading streaming platforms and renowned music schools.
5. The most prestigious music awards
The Recording Academy, or Grammy in the U.S., is the prestigious music award worldwide, recognising top achievements in the music industry globally.
American music is heard everywhere, its influence reaching far beyond U.S. For instance, between 1965 and 2006, 71% of Germany’s top hits and 78% of the Netherlands’ top hits were American songs.
The mix of diverse cultures and strong economic backing has made American music popular around the world, even overcoming language barriers.
