The Wall Street Journal is asking what popularity means in the various arts from music to books to online videos and even to food. Among those interviewed was artist Jim Shaw:

“Today, collectors determine popularity. The art world is an oligopoly in that a small number of individuals control value. So you can be successful without being popular, without having many fans. In the music world, if you don’t have fans, you don’t exist. The industry has moved toward the art fair as a way to view and buy art. That is not necessarily the best way to read art.

Susan Wojcicki, Tom Colicchio and More on Popularity  (WSJ)