Honestly, I think the main reason for pop songs not having drums is simply convenience, it takes a bit more effort to record drums.
In some cases, that's certainly true. But you're discounting the bigger picture, which remains: what serves the song best? It doesn't matter if the song is a commercial throw-away or whatever, there's still a conscious decision (on the part of the writer and/or producer) as to the best way to reproduce the song that's in their head.
You have to allow the writer/producer/artist the freedom to do a song the way they want. Nobody is going out of their way to put musicians out of work. Nobody is slyly wringing their hands because they saved $383 by not using a live drummer.
Bermuda