COMMERCIAL ASPECTS
Music became an important business in the twentieth century. Public concerts by professional artists and organizations (orchestras, opera companies, choruses, and chamber ensembles) are important commercial enterprises. Companies that manufacture musical instruments and high—fidelity playback equipment are an integral part of the musical scene. Publication of books, periodicals, musical scores, and the availability of video tapes has disseminated music and Musical information to an extent unknown in the past. The music-recording companies have become among the largest of big businesses. They have made available a vast repertory of music of the past as well as the present, and produced an audience hungering for many types of music.