^Oh, I'm done with my studying years, officially I mean. I studied art history, which, I like to think, gives you a pretty broad perspective on history, culture, not just art.
And yes, common people, so to say, were also making music which was passed through the generations by oral tradition. It's not a written music. Even today, popular music is not written, but it has the benefits of recording, like you said. And with the advancements in technology, we today have more free time that enables us to devote it to art for art's sake, for example. That was once the luxury of the elite. And in the spirit of democracy, popular music is now the main current. And never before was popular music so interwoven with high art music like today. That makes for a diversity, individualism, eclecticism etc. So from the ethical point of view (beside technological), our time is more advanced compared to previous periods. But, does that make art today more valuable? No, because art (and culture) shouldn't be valued from ethical point of view. That's the whole point.
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