“I Wish Someone Would Help Me Write this Song”: or, the Efficient Allocation of Resources in Rock Bands

Abstract

Economics, they say, can explain (almost) everything. In this paper, we argue that with a little help from its friends – that is, borrowing a few insights from psychology and sociology – economics can explain also why certain rock bands have had more success than others. We argue that the two most successful rock bands of all times in terms of album sales – Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd – have both relied on an efficient internal organisation in which productive tasks were allocated according to the principle of comparative advantage. We also note that efficient organisational structures are difficult to achieve and to maintain in the case of rock bands. Finally, we suggest that our analysis yields valuable insights for the study of the internal organisation of productive teams without a pre-ordained hierarchical structure.