Hector Aguilar writes:

>classical music is more popular than lucrative, at least right now.

That's probably always been true.  What's changed is the cultural emphasis
on "optimization", "highest return on investment", and similar concepts.
If you can't assign a dollar value to something, it has no (measurable)
value.

The "bean counters" have been looking for some way for classical music
to pay off as well as pop music has (until recently -- it looks as if the
piper is finally demanding payment), and when that hasn't worked, have
responded by just getting out of the business.

But classical music isn't becoming less popular.  The demand, though small,
is still there.  The media giants are neither willing or able to address
that small demand, but smaller providers can and will.  We are in a period
of transition, and most of the news is about the abandonment of classical
music by the big names.  There's money to be made in the classical music
business, if you understand the customer base and cater to it.  Savvy
entrepreneurs who are satisfied with less grandiose "accomplishments"
than BMG, AOL/Time/ Warner, ...  execs will fill the void.  It will just
take some time.

len.