This is an interesting take. Traditionally, I can't think of any instances in which high-end creative work was paid for by a subscription. Hollywood blockbuster

This is an interesting take. Traditionally, I can't think of any instances in which high-end creative work was paid for by a subscription. Hollywood blockbusters were paid for by ticket sales. Great albums by album purchases. Frescos and painings either by selling the paintings or being commissioned on a project-by-project basis. Novels by selling the novels. Creative work has more or less always been gig work. Microtransactions are a natural extension of this funding mechanism into smaller-scale creative output such as blog posts and ten-minute videos that don't cost anywhere near as much to produce as films and novels.