galt54

My answer to that is that you must have observed a few instances of low quality in America, hastily generalized and leaped to the conclusion that "business" as such has nothing to do with quality.

Well, in a capitalistic society the businessmen who produce good quality at reasonable prices outcompete the ones which don't sooner or later - usually not much later. But there is a lot of junk on the market, in music as well as elsewhere, today. The reason is not "business" or capitalsm. America today is a mixed economy - and in a mixed economy shoddy goods can stay around for a long time, since the government suppresses the free market.

Here is one concrete which goes a long way to explaining why you may have observed that a lot of crappy popular music is commercially successful today:

The government regulates the ether (i.e. radio and television). In order for a businessman or idealist to start a radio station, he first needs to get a broadcast license from the government. So it is really difficult or an "upstart" to break into the radio broadcasting business. No one can establish a radio station without the permission of the bureaucrats at the FCC. What do you think that does to the value of diversity in the ether?

In a capitalist society it would be much easier for upstarts to start their own radio stations. There would therefore be many independent radio stations. The effect of that on the music industry is that "small" and independent pop and rock artists would have more of a chance of getting their songs played on the radio. And, of course, radio play can make or break a song and an artist.

Here is a concrete piece of advice for improving the state of popular music:

Abolish the FCC and deregulate TV and radio!