"Who cares if rare birds are becoming extinct? We've got plenty of pigeons."
I need to act on the plan to go to the symphony more, while I still have the chance. Symphony orchestras would be in trouble even without the internet; they're very expensive, since they're collections of dozens of trained professionals who have ever-fewer daytime gigs.
Alas, recordings are nice but don't really do an orchestra full justice. Real instruments have real timbre. And, of course, even the recording would be lousy were it not for highly trained and rather expensive studio and mixing engineers.
With all due respect to your "rare birds" analogy, donate to your local symphony if you truly support it. Don't just talk about it and don't make me pay for it. I have my own entertainment I value and I would prefer my money go to support that instead of your own personal preferences.
