I think a better version of the Rick Fielding advice above is this paraphrase from Dick McCormack:

A performer who plays only to please the audience is a whore.

A performer who plays only to please him/herself, i. e., satisfy his/her own need for meaningful creative expression, is a crashing bore unless he or she is a genius.

If you aren't a genius and don't want to be a whore, you have to find a middle ground. I think.

Peter.