Personally I don't think the decline in the popularity of classical music has anything to do with the record labels or any perceived snobbery of the genre (at least not anymore). It's just that the Vast Consuming Masses prefer the simplicity and directness of popular music, and with modern electronic instrumentation it's a lot easier for Any Joe to form his own band (compared to, say, the 40's when most "bands" were comprised of a small orchestra, which is harder to assemble). Heck, even jazz isn't as popular as it used to be.
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