> The first is that it still takes the same number of people to perform a Beethoven symphony, but 4 kids with electric guitars and barely any training can now p

> The first is that it still takes the same number of people to perform a Beethoven symphony, but 4 kids with electric guitars and barely any training can now perform music to a packed concert hall or dance floor. Economics feeds into this. I happen to like (among other things) "big band" music, which flourished in the 30s through the end of WWII. The reason was that wages were depressed (it was The Depression, after all) so it was cheap to hire a big band (and it was a way to spread the money around and keep your friends employed). The war ended, the depression ended, and jobs were plentiful (plus some new technology wsa developed) and that was the end of the Big Band Sound. Symphonies evolved in a time of patronage and low wages. They are absurd today -- real money losers. I'm glad people still try, but I feel like my experience must be subsidized. I am compulsively unable to attend a concert without estimating the amount the band is paid and dividing it by the players. The economics rarely make direct sense.