The existential conundrum of the artist.
On the one hand, there is a principle that applies to life in general, where we should not rely on the opinion or approval of others to validate what we do.
On the other hand, there is an element of communication and shared experience to any type of art. So is it truly fulfilled if there is no observer?
An artist may create for the enjoyment of it, or a personal challenge, etc. But it’s hard to imagine, for example, a painter creating an entire gallery that only hangs in a basement. Put another way, would the artist create this large body of work with no expectation it will be seen?
In the case of recorded music, there is a considerable amount of time and effort between the germ of an idea and the finished recording. And all that effort is required for a listener to be able to experience it as the writer intends.
So, speaking for myself, I can get a song idea and imagine it fully produced in my head. In theory I could stop there.