It’s true that it’s possible to reach a wider audience than was every possible, but now a handful of musicians take up all of the listening time. My parents are both blue collar musicians and use to make good money. before recorded music was as popular as it is now, being a musician was a viable career path because anytime anyone wanted music at the wedding or the holiday party, or any party really, there needed to be a band. Now it’s more common to hire a DJ or just make a Spotify playlist and hear recordings of the tiny minority of top musicians.