I don’t think music is devalued. Not that this is an answerable question. No one can really compare the value of music now and then.
Music is more ubiquitous now that we have the technology to record it and play it everywhere. That suggests to me that music is of great value to people. They want it everywhere. They play it everywhere—their own person musical selections on their own time; but other people are selecting music to play for us in almost every situation, in order to enhance the situation.
Of course, a lot of music kind of ruins things, especially if they play it too loud or play the wrong kind of music. I was at a bar this week, and they had some pretty good musicians playing, but the sound was cranked up to ear-splitting volume, and until half the cochlea in my ears were destroyed, I couldn’t really tolerate it without pain. However, idiot that I am, I told them I might come back and play with them next week.
I had a gig this afternoon, supporting a ceremony for prayer flags that kids in schools around town have written. They could have had recorded music, but they wanted live, and they wanted live because we can do something almost no other musicians can do: we can instantly improvise music that fits the emotions of the poetry. This is not something you can do with recorded music, either.
People want music because it enhances emotions. We feel things more strongly with a sound track. Music reaches deep into our minds, past all the words and thoughts and interacts directly with our feelings. Music has a power that words and pictures don’t have. The only thing close is scent, and we don’t yet know how to play on scent instruments.
I think music is more valued than ever. I think our seemingly endless desire to consume it shows this. Music still reaches deep inside, quickly passing our gates and fences to our emotions. It allows us to express our spirits and to get in touch with our souls. Music may not be more essential, but our access to it would make its loss seem much more catastrophic, I believe.