We as a species have a rather strange sense of value.
There are a number of things which factor into how we value something, some of which seem far removed from reality. Music is valued pretty much in any society, but at different levels. Classical music in Western culture is held as a "high art", and while benefactors of such art contribute generously to the institutions which promote its organization, the musicians who give life to compostitions are themselves rarely respected. That honor goes to the few really top-notch soloists, and some lesser players who are really good at self-promotion.
Pop culture definitely respects musicians, with a fervor unlike anything you will see for an opera. Singer-songwriters are elevated to demi-god status, spawning clothing, accessories and even childrens' toy lines. When people connect with a 3-minute long tune with a driving beat, that small, scruffy group of guitarists and drummers can make a fortune. Music that makes alot of folks feel good is apparently more profitable than music that is supposed to enlighten you. 
I am often asked by shoppers at craft fairs what my "best price" is on a piece of jewelry.....While I understand the desire to secure a bargain, the lack of understanding regarding the term "value added" sometimes pisses me off. It is true that one can find really cheap mass-produced jewelry at the mall, but which is largely produced in countries where a person's time and effort are not considered to be worth anything. To compare that stuff to individually handcrafted pieces in a place where we supposedly DO care about fair labor practices is a bit insulting. I'd like to think that the odd moments when my chaotic brain is lucid enought to create something entirely unique are worth something more than a bargain-basement price. So, you are willing to spend $75 on a ticket to see your favorite band in concert, but not for a solid sterling bracelet which took some poor Aspergian artist hours of labor and expensive tools, silver and gemstones to create (which you would be able to wear proudly for years to come)? Even more insulting is when the person wanting a discount can clearly afford what you are asking for your work.
Corporations have a very skewed view of the value of their employees. CEO's make salaries that are hundreds of times that of any of their workers, without whom the company would collapse. While I accept that CEO's do alot of hard work for their businesses, is the kind of work really so much more difficult that the wage gap has to be so astounding? Companies rely on a workforce to produce their product without which the company would not make any money, and the workforce relies on the company for jobs without which they wouldn't make any money either. It is a mutually beneficial relationship, but with a highly unfair and unbalanced dispersion of wealth. For the guy controlling the pursestrings to rationalize that he is somehow four hundred times more deserving of his pay than the people who physically create his saleable merchandise is not only ludicrous, it is criminal.
The executive directors and conductors of symphony orchestras (even the smaller, un-famous ones, and...Non-profit organizations, mind you) make significantly more money than the musicians who actually produce the sounds which bring people to the theatres to buy tickets. It is rationalized that these two people do such hard work that they deserve a six-figure salary, while the musicians subsist on only part-time work. No thought is given to the fact that no one in their right mind would buy tickets to see a conductor standing on a stage by himself, waving a baton around in complete silence. No matter his excellent training, he would look like a lunatic. The executive director would have nothing but a conductor to executively direct without the hours of practice and dedication of the players.
Musicians, however, can create music together whenever or wherever they so choose, whether they are getting paid for it or not. Our identity, at least will never be taken away from us, regardless of how we are valued by someone else.