Why is music unique?

In Gioia’s latest interview he spends a lot of time discussing Romanticism, which is the parallel to my Foy Rebellion.

He also uses Taylor Swift vs AI as an example of opposite trends. AI is removing the human element from the ‘low end’ of music, Swift is returning the human element to the top-dollar end. It takes time to build up a real career with a real following, and Swift started performing in high school.

Ping! Music is unique among the big industries now. It’s the only career where people can still start early, which is how you develop a skill.

Before meritocracy sclerosed into credentialism, many other professions started early. Journalists started at 14 as a printers devil on a small paper. Many “non-professions” still start early. When your father runs a business, you start work as soon as you can, without the formality of paychecks.

Music has always been an early-start career and a family business. Mozart and JS Bach were third-generation musicians, who started playing and writing as soon as their fingers worked.

Four of my classmates ended up as professional musicians, and all were semi-pro in 11th grade. The future farmers and business owners had already been working in Dad’s farm or store since they could walk. None of the future teachers or engineers were semi-pro at that point. It wasn’t allowed.

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Aside from genes, music has one extremely special quality that encourages early starts. Hearing is already fully functional long before birth. Wolfgang and JS were hearing the family orchestra and receiving epigenes and hormones from Mutti’s responses to the family orchestra.

Farming and storekeeping and engineering aren’t audio skills, so they have to wait for birth.