[The Old Hoosier]

I don't think the technological genie that always stood in the way of massive copying of music is ever going back in the bottle.

You're right, because people lack the virtue to respect private property. But there could be no more professional musicians.

Or you may have to pay for them through the NEA in the future, because no one else will pay.

[William McKinley]

I guess I see a day coming with in-demand radios and players, with scrambling devices akin to cable boxes.

What happens in the interim, I do not know.

[=Intervention=]

*ROFL* There will be no more 'professional' musicians! As if! Every person that gets rich and then decides to go into music could be one. Every one that decides to play in the Philharmonic is one. Every musician that derives an income from teaching other musicians is one. Who's to say that other organizations won't spring up to fill the void? Remember that a vaccum will not last long in nature -- people want music and will endure, no question. P.S. if "professional" you mean "able to sound like bands that play on the radio" you might want to look around you. There are literally tons of musicians who have day jobs and have the same amount of skill as folks on the radio. If Nirvana and the Sex Pistols and NKOTB can make it...