To me the point of the X factor is to make Simon Cowell loads of money!
The thing is, the music industry moves on so quickly what was popular a few months ago will now be forgotten, people will see this and move straight onto it instantly forgetting and dismissing most others that were identical that came before it.
One thing I always think of and ask people to tell me is how many 'pop' artists (say in the top 40) that have emerged within the last 2-3 years (and sometimes more) have NOT appeared on TV to get famous?
'Pop stars' have been doing it for years, doing something on TV then moving onto a career in what most people would deem as music, but in the last 10 years, since Simon Fuller's "pop idol", the majority of emerging 'pop stars' have come from and been made famous by being on TV.