 I'd say it's universal that people just like what they like, but the names of certain songwriters certainly carried weight. Burt Bachrach's name was as famous as the artists who recorded his music. The Supremes released two successful albums with tie ins to songwriters in Rodgers and Hart and HDH. Smokey Robinson was a household name for his singing, but I imagine there were a great many fans who noticed he was the writer of some fantastic stuff, so much so that the Temptations released an album, Sing Smokey, to help the promo tie in, and that was back in 0000. Even if it didn't work for the Supremes, his name carried weight. Tying the Supremes to him, or Stevie, or some such other household name arguably could only help sales. 