1987's Permanent Vacation started a new wave of success which the band has ridden since then. The problem is, the band quickly started to believe that it needed songwriting help in order to function. In a 1990 behind-the scenes documentary on the making of the Pump album, Steven Tyler says that he needs these people to make sense out of the bits and pieces in his head. From there, the influence of the record companies only got more dominant, until we get to where we are today. Now, Aerosmith is big business, a corporate machine.
Albums take four years to craft to perfection.
In reality, the band is just like those other artists now. When Aerosmith shared the same song with rappers Run-DMC 15 years ago, it was a groundbreaking social statement about brotherhood between the races. The Super Bowl is pure corporate promotional manipulation. No time for social commentary now, this is business. It's on to promotional appearances on Letterman, Saturday Night Live, Good Morning America and what have you.