This is a dishonest framing, I think. The scale and type of content, especially the way it is expected to be consumed, on top of a hyper-monetized ad framework

This is a dishonest framing, I think. The scale and type of content, especially the way it is expected to be consumed, on top of a hyper-monetized ad framework was not a thing in ancient times. I also think very few people picked up a lute in those days with the idea that they were only going to play if it made them money (artists have for much of modern history notoriously made a poor living). The point I was making was not that an artist making a living from their art is a new thing, no one is making that point.