A world in which it’s easy and cheap (or even possible!) to enjoy lots of media of the past is itself a very new thing. Within living memory, hearing a song on-

A world in which it’s easy and cheap (or even possible!) to enjoy lots of media of the past is itself a very new thing. Within living memory, hearing a song on-demand meant being or knowing someone who could play an instrument. Those family sing-alongs around the piano that you see in older movies and shows, tapering off (but still sometimes appearing!) in the 80s, are an artifact of that time. Seeing some kind of performance, or a film, at home, was even harder until pretty recently. Things like acting in community theater or being able to play an instrument or having other kinds of small-time artistic talent used to be a lot more socially valuable.