Who Says Research Can't Be Rocking?

On the Efficiency of AC/DC: Bon Scott versus Brian Johnson (PDF; 186 KB) Source: Munich Personal RePEc Archive Among musicologists, researcher of popular culture, and rock and roll lovers of all ages there exists a common debate. That is, with respect to the rock band AC/DC, who is the better vocalist: Bon Scott or Brian Johnson? The band’s original vocalist, Scott, performed on seven of the band’s albums (excluding live albums and compilations), passing away in 1980. Brian Johnson joined the band in 1980, serving as vocalist on nine albums (excluding live albums and compilations). Since 1980, there has been near constant contention regarding who was the better singer. In this paper, we explore this issue. Since it is difficult to ascertain which vocalist was better given the heterogenity of musical tastes, our analysis does not focus on the aural or sonic quality of the vocalists’ performances. Rather, using tools from the field of experimental economics, and we consider which vocalist results in individuals arriving at more efficient outcomes in a simple bargaining game. Our results suggest that having participants listen to songs by AC/DC is which Brian Johnson served as vocalist results in participants realizing more efficient outcomes. This, in terms of a singer’s ability to implmenent efficient behavioral outcomes among listeners, our results suggest that Brian Johnson was a better vocalist than Bon Scott.

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