Is popular music a mass produced commodity or a genuine art form?

When looking at which types of music are considered as genuine art forms it is hardly ever popular music which is included. Much like Adorno, we often take the stance that music produced within the popular music industry are products of industrial standardization, mass produced with the sole purpose of making a large profit, lacking in both creativity and artistic substance. There is much evidence to support this claim with programmes for example such as The X Factor. Bernard Gendron argues against the views of Adorno, believing that the focus is on the way in which the different artists manipulate the meaning of a song through their performance. The Smiths for example were categorized as popular music due to their quick popularity and huge success. This popularity was due to their unique sound and meaningful lyrics which is now highly praised. It is then interesting to suggest that the idea of a mass produced commodity and a genuine art form as polar is wrong and that perhaps popular music can be explained as a mixture of the two.