Even if it's kept around it's irrelevant compared to other contemporary genres

Deej, relevance cannot be relative. If it is one billionth of one percent relevant (classical is a magnitude of order higher than that) then it has relevance.

In the end, as long as people use it in media like movies and there's still enough money being earned to build venues dedicated almost primarily to the performance of classical music, it's relevant. Period. Will a fan of One Direction turn that off only to start blasting Chopin? Maybe not... But will a fan of Chopin really hanker for some One Direction? Also probably not. It goes both ways. Then there are probably artists both of those listeners can agree on. It all depends on taste. Just because you may not like classical or minimize your exposure to it doesn't make it irrelevant.

Put it this way, classical music may not be as popular as pop right now, but in 100 years all of the current Top 40 songs will be forgotten and the favorite classical pieces will remain in society's consciousness.

This doesn't mean that classical music awareness is adequate, though. In my opinion, music academies should stop discouraging composers of "traditional-sounding" classical music -- which is the kind that the wider public likes -- from learning the craft and getting into the business. If there were more successful and LIVING composers of classical music that people actually like, this would help spread awareness more than anything else. Dead composers are great, but for many people, there is an unmeasurable but positive psychological effect that comes from the feeling of being part of a "living tradition." For a living tradition, you need living composers.

I was only arguing relevance based off of how BD phrased the question in the first half of the OP. It's kind of crazy that most of you believe that classical is popular enough to be listed right next to hip hop pop rock and electronica.

The question is almost like asking if abstract games (e.g. Chess & Checkers) are as popular as video games. Where it's understandable you can compare the number of people are doing each activity, but the games themselves are a bit of an apples to oranges comparison.

Pitting one type of music against a collection of different music forms that are media/industry driven seems a bit tipping the scales, too. And even if all of them fall under the umbrella term of Popular music for a musicologist, it isn't like it's one monolithic mega-genre where every one loves everything about it... they don't.

Out of the types of music you mentioned, they are well liked by everyone. And I've seen a lots of harsh criticism about each one of them (both on MB and irl). Many people avoid at least one of those mention at all cost too. I see people really disliked or look down at the other types of music mentioned tbh. On the other hand when it comes to Classical music it goes unnoticed, can't be bother with it.

I voted 'yes,' classical music is still relevant in today's culture. Isn't that why it has the name "classical" and is deemed as "classic?!"

For me, classical music is still the backbone of music theory and practice in a variety of genres. Many noteworthy musicians are classically trained (some are not, and I don't have a problem with this) but the fact that most are means that there origins will have some kind of influence in the music they create.

Not to mention, much of the music created today includes practice that was prominent in classical music - the cycle of fifths, scales, arpeggios, time signatures, etc. It's not entirely obvious but all of these defining features, I believe, still seep into music that is constructed today.

Not to mention the fact that people still listen to classical music. All the time, every day. In fact, classical music is still one of the most popular musical genres. Doesn't that just go to show that it is far from becoming irrelevant?

Thanks for your opinions people! I know I haven't replied but I have read all of them :)

Here is another question. When current artists sample classical music in their songs, or remix them in some way or another, do you think it brings awareness to the original piece of music or does the sampling/remixing just cheapen it or over commercialize it?

It all depends on the listener. I bet most of us at MB would break it down and seek out the original piece to hear it but casual listeners won't care to.