Able, but not willing 😊 A not so subtle difference…. and of course you are wrong about ‘popular in their own right’. I’m beginning to think that you really don’t know what you are talking about.
Without naming names, as I really cannot be bothered to spend too much time on this, someone might have copied an obscure blues guitarist. Know to the local scene but not popular in the sense of worldwide or even countrywide acclaim.
Famous guitarist brings the style to a wider audience. Everyone, but the few who know, thinks the famous guitarist is the originator.
Please don’t go on, it’s tedious. If you don’t agree, it’s fine. I worked with Universal/SONY and lots of smaller outfits too, so I have some idea of the music biz.