Patreon take a 5% cut of donations. A band with an exceptionally good record deal might get to keep 15% of CD sales. The numbers are fairly similar in most mass

Patreon take a 5% cut of donations. A band with an exceptionally good record deal might get to keep 15% of CD sales. The numbers are fairly similar in most mass media - under historical distribution models, middlemen kept the lion's share of revenues. Even assuming that competition for entertainment spending is entirely zero-sum, then the disintermediation of the arts is destroying a lot of jobs for middlemen but is increasing the amount of revenue that goes to artists. Even if the pie is static or shrinking, artists are getting a bigger cut. I'm not saying that everything is sunshine and roses, I'm not saying that everyone can become a creative professional, but I think that the situation is definitely improving. Barriers to entry are lower and there's a much larger middle-class of artists who aren't internationally famous but are making a good living.