One thing this article mentions, in an offhand way, is the effect of media outlets on mass appeal. There was a time where things like Dick Clark and Ed Sullivan

One thing this article mentions, in an offhand way, is the effect of media outlets on mass appeal. There was a time where things like Dick Clark and Ed Sullivan were not just major tastemakers - they were some of the only tastemakers. The internet cracked this singular, self-reinforcing media loop wide open by allowing people to explore alternative genres and art forms. That's not to say that people aren't still influenced by guitars and guitarists; they're still selling almost a million of them every year! But I can't help but wonder how many of those other sales got robbed by people inspired by other artists. Anecdotally, my own experience confirms the "robbed interest" theory. I got into bluegrass music early in college, found and listened to a bunch of it online, and ended up learning to play the dobro. I doubt I'd have ever managed that if I hadn't had the internet to interact with the genre's community, or consume more media in the same vein.