The money today for classically-trained composers is also mostly in film music. The next biggest market is video game music. After that, symphonic works (eg ope

The money today for classically-trained composers is also mostly in film music. The next biggest market is video game music. After that, symphonic works (eg openers and large works for full symphony orchestras) are a distant third. The money has always been in commissioned music,* it's just about what is getting commissioned. Counterpoint rarely gets commissioned, let alone enough counterpoint to become Bach. * Mozart's catalog is a great example: Salzburg Mozart wrote masses and organ fugues, while Vienna Mozart wrote operas and secular pieces. It's what he was paid to write.