I feel like the intro to the article is understating the amount of work an individual pop artist puts into their work, even if it is supported by a team of engineers/writers/producers. I like the interview, however.

I agree. The pop product is primarily a persona and a brand rather than the art itself (though it can be both), but it's not like that's not ever true of niche artists, it's just packaged differently and on a different scale.