This is an interesting take, but most of my favorite artists grew up comfortably middle class, because it gave them the time and space to develop their art, compared to people who had to get jobs as teens or watch their little siblings.

Pretty weird take. I guess every classical composer didn't make anything authentic because they were all nobles from rich families.

How is that related? I only claimed that struggling artists were manufacturing authenticity. I made no claims about other sources.

You've got the causality backwards. Authenticity means steering clear of the siren call of mass market appeal. An overwhelming focus on creating things, despite their lack of commercial expedience, is what causes the struggling.

The analog in software is working for a surveillance company versus architecting your software to cut out needless middlemen.

Is suffering the only source of authenticity?