I think that Pete Seeger nailed it, many years ago, when he wrote about the detrimental effect of "tin pan alley" in the folk music genre.

As someone who's been playing the product of "Tin Pan Alley" - particularly stuff from the 1920s and 1930s - for many years, I'm always amused at the attitude of some people, mainly "folkies", who tend to dismiss it as purely commercial pap or stuff without any soul. The amount of sheer talent and genius in writer and composers of that era (for example) is staggering, and there are some heart-stopping songs out there if your ears aren't hardened.

I first heard "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime" and "My Forgotten Man", for example, back when I first started playing guitar in the 1960s - and they resonate today. With good reason.

Even an utterly commercial label like Motown with an utterly commercial owner like Berry Gordy produced music with heart.

There's good and bad in all genres - if you care to listen. It doesn't all have to be passed on by an oral tradition.