Never said it should be elevated to a position higher than the entire game production team. And from what this original post suggests, neither are the people saying that $800 was far too little a cut. I didn't read any of the links you provided, but I'm pretty sure the musicians don't consider themselves more important than the game design team.

Chrono Trigger, Halo, and Super Mario Bros. are really good examples of what makes music special. It turned (and will turn, in Halo's case) these games into nostalgia. People can hum the tunes, feel nostalgic, and play it again solely starting from that one event in their mind. It CAN make or break a game. I read a study a while ago where they tested the same game on very similar groups of people, one version with sound, one without, and the one with sound was rated far higher. Ya might say that without music there would still be a game, but I guarantee far less people will enjoy it if the audio is crap. People won't be as immersed, and won't play as long. Seems obvious to me, but then I'm a musician and have paid close attention to music's effect on people.