I've corresponded with several bands struggling with these issues, and it's cool to read that the issues are not new. Here's two quick quotes, but I encourage you to read the whole article:
"Rock groups who take their work seriously are not always eager to cater to what they believe is the public taste—and of course their direct contact is not with the public but with the record companies and the radio stations, who have their own ideas as to what the public taste might be."
. . .
"I believe we are on the threshold of a whole new level of mass communication. I think that the dreams of both businessmen and artists can be realized, but only to the extent that they both recognize each other, only to the extent that we think of ourselves as all being people, working toward common human goals." - Paul Williams '68
