"Pop" in the intended sense here does not mean "popular". In fact in its conventional sense it never means simply "popular". Popular is too broad a term. You could describe metal as being popular, or Mozart and Beethoven as being popular, inasmuch as they have a very large audience. Still, you wouldn't start calling Eine Kleine Nachtmusik or Slipknot "pop music".
Pop music in its most typical sense refers to mainstream formats - that is, formats of the day that are consumed on a mass scale across the whole of society. You could argue that it is mostly "corporate garbage", because the vast majority of that music is entirely generic and unremarkable, which is aside from the point that it is crafted not with artistic intent but merely for the purposes of mass consumption.
Pop music might also refer to music that is not necessarily corporate at all, but rather gravitates towards melodies, hooks, and catchy arrangements, like indie pop or whatever.
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