I think Autotune just happened to popup at the same time the real "issue" pops up. In the 70s,80s, even 90s you had finite music. There's only so much time on a radio station, only so much space in the store. Small labels existed but how did you hear about them? With streaming I can now access so much more.

It's easier for someone to be say, a fan of folk punk while located somewhere without a scene. Why does that person care about background music in a random place? Why should they?