The point of the article is that the business is in decline. Less sales equals less innovation. Without innovation, all you have is nostalgia. If he's not already there, Mayer is closing in on 40, and I bet Frusciante is 50. Personally, I've never heard of Lage or Govan. That doesn't mean they're not guitar heroes to some, but by no means are they influencing hordes of new generation players like Page, Clapton, EVH, Wylde, or Slash did in their heyday. You know where that level of veneration prevails? In electronic music. It's reflected much more in pop trends and doesn't require near the level of commitment to make a decent sound. Further, the processes required to create it are less costly, much simpler, and parallel commonplace, non-musical applications. I think that's what the article speaks to, above all else: What kind of innovation is viable over a half a century after pioneers electrified the instrument? Jim Morrison saw the writing on the wall when he was all of 25 years old: