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I think groupies started at the time of Chopin and Liszt. Just read about their hordes of female followers, more discreet in the case of the former and more blatant in the case of the latter. But there's no doubt that the move of music out of court and church into secular public spaces in the late 18th century had to happen first.

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Best movie on the subject : Almost famous. FZ was right though: it's mainly the magnetism not just the kind of profession. Those who have great self discipline, focus and are great at what they do will always attract a lot more than others.

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Secularization, condoms, the French demographic transition? Casanova was a celebrity of that era. He started using condoms in 1760. By 1789, most French clergymen were willing to accept the rule of the French secular state. Through the century, fertility in France plunged. Couples practiced withdrawal and came up with all sorts of other clever ways to get it on. France got a bit of a reputation. Consider deSade a man of his time. French GDP per capita soared. England didn't catch up for a century, and they had to industrialize to do it.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11698-021-00237-2

That was the wrong link, try: https://hal.science/hal-02318180/file/paper_secularization.pdf

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