I personally disagree with the direction the criticism is taking here.
There is nothing worse than an artist who feels compelled by the public to satisfy the least common denominator. Real art is from the heart and mind of the artist, and his world, harnessing his inner human condition, his specific talents, and so on.
I went that route because Aztec specifically was mentioning the artist's desire to sell in his OP.
While I certainly appreciate your point, from a historic point of few art for arts sake is a concept that is very very new. If you look at the classical "masters", be it in the visual arts or in music, almost everything they did was commissional work.
Commissioned work follows from building a name, a look, an edge, a uniqueness, often comprised of life experience, and a way of seeing the world. I don't necessarily disagree with what you're saying, but if there is one solid point I'd like to make, more than anything, it would be this:
He will get a following, and commissions, by staying true to himself. But that does not preclude experimentation on his part. But that experimentation should come from within him and his own self-discovery.