So does Fender, Gibson, etc pay for more ad space, give more free samples, or offer bigger product discounts in order to get most of the pages in retailers catalogs? Musicians Friend catalog doesn't count as they are Fender owned and thus obvious in their layouts.

Or is it just advancing technology gets the nod over more traditional ways of music production thereby getting the promotion?

That doesn't apply to guitars though..acoustic guitars are not dying off in the pages or retail outlets.

Makes me wonder if there were full page ads dedicated to a Genos or PA4x or more than just a photo of one lower model with just a list of other models and prices under it, would there be more sales?