Investigation № 001 Edition 01 / 2026 · V1.1

The Football Song Economy

A forensic accounting
of the chorus

Which songs earned the most from football stadiums? Ten songs. Millions of plays across stadiums worldwide. An almost invisible stream of public performance royalties. Estimated in the open, one song at a time.

Total modeled stadium revenue $144.5MNot audited

Our ranking: the editors' default order — balancing money, cultural impact and strength of evidence.

Show only 10 of 10 songs
Four Findings From the Loud End
Colophon — how the money moves

Count the plays. Price the use. Show the uncertainty.

No secret algorithm. No invented precision. Every case uses the same visible skeleton, then adjusts the inputs to fit the evidence. Every figure is tagged documented, estimated, or proxied.

Step 1Est. annual stadium plays18,500
Step 2Years in football rotation23
Step 3Modeled value per play$33.37
ResultEst. stadium revenue$14.2M

Worked example · № 01, Seven Nation Army