I don’t disagree that XML is important. I use it nearly every day.
But every single one of my collaborators and clients uses Dorico, including a major publisher who just came on board two months ago. It’s also making inroads in the film scoring and VGM market.
I know several educational institutions who are coming on board, outfitting all their tech labs with Dorico. More and more professors are allowing students to submit assignments in Dorico.
The Composer’s Toolbox published a pretty interesting survey last month of several hundred music notation users within the CT community. I think something like 50% of F and S users were strongly considering switching programs within the next six months. The overwhelming program of choice? Yup, you guessed it.
You’re right that people will tend to stick with what they use in college. The people that pick up Dorico most quickly, in my experience, are college freshmen who haven’t used any notation program before. It’s coming.