Rap or hip-hop: about 15 seconds. Most contemporary pop/rock: first listen. Selected pop artists (mostly indie, e.g. Kate Bush): a couple of listens. Springsteen: ain't gonna happen in this lifetime.
How Many Times Do You Have To Listen To Understand A Piece Of Music?
Speaking solely about popular music, broadly speaking, it takes 2 to 3 listens to figure out if I like something. Roughly meaning do I want to hear it again. To get to the point where I think I understand the piece can take dozens of listens. A big factor in how digestible a piece is whether it's a genre, artist or song I'm already familiar with. At least for me truly new music is harder to get into.
Just curious as to how others experience new music.