Others, and Dylan's a prime example, followed their own muse wherever it might take them. For Hughesy's money, some of those diversions have been worth less than the corporatised crap that surrounds them. But they result from the artist's decisions rather than the managing director's perceptions about where the big bucks are located.
Which brings me back to the Why I posed a few hundred words back. How come people accept this situation?
Who do you blame?
(a) The performers?
(b) The record companies?
(c) The media?
(d) Something else entirely
The answer, in my view (and your mileage may vary) is, simultaneously:
(e) All of the above and
(f) None of the above.
In case that doesn't make sense, to an extent we're all guilty. Humans gossip. Fact. And, despite anything that anyone tries to do we always will. No one is blameless and there's no single factor you can point at and say He dunnit.
So, is there any way out? Or am I going to keep having my life endlessly infiltrated by irrelevant information about people I have no interest in knowing about?