I tend to analogize the whole thing to the film industry.

An auteur is a director whose work is recognizable. He makes movies his way, and they have a look to them. All the blockbusters and market driven movies have their innards messed with by the studios (marketing teams and execs).

If you had no idea who directed a movie before watching it, can you identify the director? Most of the Hollywood stuff you cannot. But you can identify a film by Wong Kar-Wai, Yasujiro Ozu, or Stanley Kubrick. Granted, Ozu was a Shochiku director, but they let him do his thing.

Why do studio driven films never really hold up as art? Because they are the product of marketing, testing, and appealing to a wider audience. But they sure do make money, I admit.