I think that by emphasising the subsidy of Classical music you are loosing a bit of the whole picture. There are many areas in classical music that are suffering because of lack of subsidy. My daughter's orchestra ( one of the best youth orchestras in the country ) has had to appeal for money to hire a piano so they can play with an extreemly high rated pianist at their Christmas concert. The concerts are always desparate struggles to get enough people in to raise money for instruments, tours and courses and to subsidise the members who otherwise would not be able to play.

One of the problems is that many people do not go to these sorts of concerts because of an almost inverted snobbery, its proper musics so its not for them. The people I have dragged along have invariably enjoyed themselves.

I agree that a wider range of musical types should be looked at for subsidy and promotion. I believe that all sorts of music is ignored on television. I enjoy some of the classic concerts but they are usually on at times which are inappropiate, most interesting pop/rock music is limited to Jool's Holland's program and I can't remember the last decent folk/roots program. The problem is not so much about what is proper music but is the chase for ratings and hence justification for existance.

All the best

Julie