Mozart and Beethoven get performed worldwide more than any other single pop figure.
Jeremy Bentham is alive and well on FR!
Yes, Western classical music (including liturgical music) is studied and performed more than any other music, and for good reason. It is also the foundation of most pop music.
“Mozart and Beethoven get performed worldwide more than any other single pop figure.”
We are not talking about single artists. We are talking about entire genre of music.
Go anywhere in the world. How many live classical music performances are there compared to live performances of popular music - fewer classical performances. The same is true for radio and TV and sales of recorded music.
As a genre, classsical music is simply not as “popular” as popular music in all its forms.