"Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow." - Kurt Vonnegut
I think the "professionalization" of the arts and the subsequent ability to distribute it across the planet contributes to this a lot. Previously even somebody like Bach could only be in one place, he could only perform once at the present moment, if you wanted to hear music you had to know somebody who could play or play yourself. Everybody knew a "musician." Everybody could participate in songs, in creation. Now, the world is so inundated with The Best Stuff that most folks don't even try, don't see the point, let's just play some music from my phone. I agree we've lost something, something deeply important in the art of being.