John Mellencamp: On My Mind: The State of the Music Business

I came across this in HuffPo. I am a Mellencamp fan. Peaceful World is a beautiful song..one of my all time favs.

This is a lengthy article about how music being about the artist has gone down the Wall Street path:

John Mellencamp: On My Mind: The State of the Music Business: "Nora Guthrie, Woody's daughter, once told me a story about a reception she was at where Bob Dylan was in attendance. The business people there were quietly commenting on how unsociable Dylan seemed to them, not what they imagined an encounter with Dylan would be like. When that observation about Dylan's behavior and disposition were mentioned to Nora, the response was very profound. She said that Bob Dylan was not put on this earth to participate in cocktail chatter with strangers. Bob Dylan's purpose in life is to write great songs like 'Blowin' in the Wind' and 'The Times They Are A' Changin'.' This sort of sums it all up for me. The artist is here to give the listener the opportunity to dream, a very profound and special gift even if he's minimally successful. If the artist only entertains you for three and a half minutes, it's something for which thanks should be given. Consider how enriched all of our lives are made by songs from 'Like A Rolling Stone,' a masterpiece, to 'The Monster Mash,' a trifle by comparison."