$$$ is the culprit. The lie that people only make things because patreon dollars, because ad impressions, because sponsorships. They begin to optimise for these

$$$ is the culprit. The lie that people only make things because patreon dollars, because ad impressions, because sponsorships. They begin to optimise for these metrics and not the most important metric (fun). The lie in general that creative output only happens because people pay for it is wrong in so many ways. People love to be creatively fulfilled. I'd argue the exact opposite, that unless something else is physically preventing them, people will make creative things. Video, songs, games, writing.