NP: CD sales dive into toilet, end of musical civilization

[David Casseres]

This is exactly what John Phillip Sousa said the grammophone would do to
music, in his debate with Thomas Edison.

On 1/9/07, robinlandseadel at comcast.net <robinlandseadel at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> Here's a long article from a Huston paper that is mostly about the
> decline and demise of the CD (along with music as a communal
> activity). This passage touches on the role of music in the 19th
> century:
>
> "Indeed, some believe that the entire world of music has been
> devalued by the very fact of its ease of access. A study at the
> University of Leicester in England earlier this year came to that very
> conclusion. Music psychologist Dr. Adrian North and his team
> monitored 346 music fans over the course of two weeks, and they
> concluded that music had become a commodity and had "lost its
> aura" of magic. "In the 19th century, music was seen as a highly
> valued treasure with fundamental and near-mystical powers of
> human communication," North told the BBC. No more: "The degree
> of accessibility and choice has arguably led to a rather passive
> attitude towards music heard in everyday life."
>
> http://houstonpress.com/Issues/2007-01-04/news/feature_print.html
>
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