I completely agree. There is more to a product than the final result. People who don't play an instrument see music I terms of money. (Hint: there's no money in music). But those who play know that the pleasure is in the playing, and jamming with your mates. Recording and selling are work, not pleasure.

This is true for literally every hobby people do for fun. I am learning ceramics. Everything I've ever made could be bought in a shop for a 100th of the cost, and would be 100 times "better". But I enjoy making the pot, and it's worth more to me than some factory item.

Sona will allow a new hobby, and lots will have fun with it. Pros will still need to fo Pro things. Not everything has to be viewed through the lens of money.

You articulated what I wanted to add to this thread -- thank you!

I play the piano, and even though MIDI exists, I still derive a lot of enjoyment from playing an acoustic instrument.

I like this saying: “The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those who sang the best.” It's fun learning to play the instrument.

I think it's not. If musicians and only musicians wanted themselves behind instruments, for the sake of being, there should be a market for autogenerated self-playing music machines for their former patrons who wouldn't care. And that's not the case; the market for ambient sound machines is small. It takes equal or more insanity to have one at home than, say, having a military armored car in the garage.

On the other hand you've probably heard of an iPod, which I think I could describe as a device dedicated to give false sense of an ever-present musician, so to speak.

So, "they" in "they still want a person behind the piano" is not just limited to hobbyists and enthusiasts. People wants people behind an instrument, for some reason. People pays for others' suffering, not for a thing's peculiarity.