As a publication owner myself, I resonate with your thoughts. Some of our writer's stories are so incredible, but they rarely take off. I don't think it's a problem with Medium as a whole. It's an issue with the readers. Readers prefer content with mass-appeal, something they've read thousands of times before, but packaged in new and interesting ways. They don't come here to form new opinions, but to see their opinions reaffirmed. I know it comes across as cynical, but that's true for any platform (YouTube, etc.) where the sole source of income is based on the reader's engagement (reads, views, claps, etc.).