What killed the harp?

poverty

I read a book about the landscape once which said that a peasant living in medieval England was better provided for than one living in 18th C. England. Things were probably even worse in the 19th C.

the commericialization of music ("Don't YOU make make music! Your music is not cool! Buy recordings of glamorous people instead. Then we won't ridicule you.")

alcohol and tobacco, which soaked up whatever spare money was available