ABSTRACT
The impact of public policy on music cannot easily be untangled from a general consideration of the historical relationship between government and the arts. The dismantling of the Arts America Program of the United States Information Agency in 1996 virtually ended any serious government sponsorship of musical groups or arts programs abroad. In the precolomal period, prior to 1492, North American Indians employed a variety of technologies in the manufacture of musical instruments. The history of the piano is especially significant because of the large numbers manufactured and sold, the stimulus piano sales gave to the sheet music publishing industry, and the role it has long played in music education. The trio of radio, audio recordings, and music publishing soon became closely linked, as music publishers, record companies, and artists realized the promotional value of radio play. The growth of music publishing paralleled the growth of music education in North America.
