It has been argued that analyzing the music industry is one of the best ways to explain current day economics, as many of the same forces that are affecting the United States economy—technology, scale, education, and the role of fairness—can be understood in context of the music industry. In a “winner-takes-all” economy, the United States’ top 1 percent earners garner 84 percent of the total income growth. Coincidentally, in the music economy, the top 1 percent of musicians have more than doubled their share of ticket revenue since the 1980s. By examining both the music industry and economy simultaneously, parallels are established.

MUSICONOMY takes the form of a life-sized soundwave—or histogram—becoming a visual manifestation that compares the United States Economy to Music. In a time when anything and everything is at your fingertips, true value is now based on the limited edition—the customized. Concurrently, in the same global economy, unique talent enjoy the spoils. Dolla Dolla Bill, Y’all.