[colechristensen]

When you have a very small audience for something, most of it is terrible because the few gems don't have the financial or cultural support to reach their full potential.

When you have a huge audience for something, most of it is terrible because the lowest common denominator is often about the 'least disliked' instead of the best. Too many opinions find an average.

What's right in the middle – enough support both creative and financial, not too much popular pressure to be average – that's where you get the most excellence.

In other words, being extremely popular or extremely obscure tends to make things bad to mediocre. Of course there are exceptions, but it's something to think about when you're trying to be successful creatively.

Indie music went through this transition over the last 10 years. There are good things now and there were good things then, but I think there were a lot more great things in the middle as appreciation was growing but didn't quite have mass appeal.