How-To?: Strings for a pop song

Disclaimer: I am a newbie in this world; I don't know much. (That doesn't mean I can't have an opinion though. )

So I'm at my internship today at Capitol Studios, and there's a string date that I was helping set up for. (I was setting up all the headphones while the Berklee graduate that's been here for two years was setting up a trifecta of $10,000 micorphones that were being rented for the session.)

David Campbell, the world-famous string arranger is doing yet another session for some pop tune. Here's what I don't get: why, oh why, does the big-time record company that's paying for this session waste their money like this? The strings on this song are going to probably act as some background pad. With some likely synths on top of that, even a good engineer, listening on a set of good speakers, would have a hard time distinguishing between these strings and what I think they should do instead: use MIDI strings with a few real overdubs.

An engineer would probably be able to make out the differences, but that's not who's buying the song for 99 cents on iTunes. Most "normal" people wouldn't be able to tell the difference in an ideal listening evirnoment, which practically no one does anyway! (I do, but I'm a music freak.)

It's just ridiculous; it's a waste of money, and once the people running things come from my generation, that'll be one less gig for Capitol Studios. (Not to mention, by then, the leading samples will be even better than they are now.)

This is how I am seeing things and it makes me overly speculative as to whether or not I really want to work in this part of the industry. More will be revealed as I stick around a little longer and keep my mouth shut. Like I said, I don't know much.