That’s true, actually, since this is in the context of recordings. Prior to sound recordings becoming available musicians were reliably in demand because anyone

That’s true, actually, since this is in the context of recordings. Prior to sound recordings becoming available musicians were reliably in demand because anyone who wanted to listen to music had to have a human play it. Copying another person’s work required a person with considerable skill and either permission or willingness to use someone else’s work. Recordings completely change that and would absolutely have been a disaster without some kind of IP laws because people would’ve been competing against a now unlimited supply of recordings. That doesn’t mean we have the perfect balance of rules but we need something.