Well, at least pop bands got hit singles out of it.
I saw a documentary on the recording "We Are The World" some years ago. Limousine after limousine pulled to the recording studio, depositing big stars like U2, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael, etc. During the recording, the champagne and caviar flowed. Then they were dumped back in their limos and driven back to their gated mansions. The record shot to number one and everybody felt good about themselves for a while.
That was back in 1984 or 85. Early rumblings of virtue signaling.
I remember it all too well. Surely a bunch of rock stars singing together will solve a lot of the world’s problems, right? They weren’t even getting paid, and some actually stopped doing drugs for a while. And I’m almost positive that literally lots of ordinary nobodies dropped their drug habits when Hollywood stars showed up for “get high on yourself” week on NBC back in the 80’s. All those washed up actors looked pretty enthusiastic about it, so why wouldn’t it work?