All, or most genres of music that involve parties other than the musicians themselves, contain elements of commercialization. While the musician's goals may be artistic, the managers/ record labels/ etc are usually only concerned with potential audiences and prospective markets. This is why labels who can afford it employ promotions teams and
PR consultants. In my opinion, this kind of activity is evident in most genres of music (not included smaller indie artists) and not just pop.
However, it is true that popular music is not doubt the most lucrative when it comes to commercialization and profit-making. But this is only one facet of pop, and even though the music is driven to increase profits it does not know that there is
also merit to the music. It's impossible to say whether pop music is one or the other, because it is most often than not both, and anyway most music genres are intermingled with commercial and profit-making avenues.