Last week, as I mindlessly scrolled through the feeds on my phone, I came across something that raised my eyebrows. The pleasantly time-sucking data summary website Study Finds offered me an article titled “Concert Ticket Economics: The Shocking Amounts Fans Are Paying for Live Songs in 2025.” This aggregated article highlighted a not-very-rigorous study by the online service GIGACalculator appraising the worth of shows by mega-mainstream artists, broken down into cost per song. Lana Del Rey was the priciest get because her shows are short — under 90 minutes — and her songs are long. “Fans shell out a staggering $16.02 per song they hear,” the website reported.

Recognizing the total fluff of such analyses, I was still struck by what this measure of musical value suggested. The study, such

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