But now Vodafone is stepping in with a new-fangled alternative to the invisible impresarios of the airwaves, and the smorgasbord of songs that they feed through our earphones.
More often, because they couldn't or wouldn't pay royalties, impresarios would either churn out their own scripts or tinker with the work of other playwrights and slap on a new title.
The publishing firms that survive what promises to be a wrenching transition will be those whose bosses and employees can learn quickly to think like multimedia impresarios rather than purveyors of perfect prose.