London audiences paid admission to see several concerts, beginning the trend that would change the economic structure of the arts in Western culture. Up to this point, the creation and presentation of art, including music, was generally supported by the church or by private patrons of royal or noble birth. When the financing of the arts began to come from middle class audiences, composers and other creative artists became much more independent of patrons, and could sell their music and performances directly to the general public.
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