If this isn't a real job, then neither is anybody that works at TMZ. I guess everyone that works at TMZ don't have a real job.
This is just 1970s grandpa talk. It's nothing different than the radio of yester-year in function (from the customer's point of view). It's that now the gatekeeping has been removed and the monetization is direct. Anybody on GAF that's against this way of business would be instantly suspect to me. It's anti-freedom to not like this as a business choice.
And how is the 2nd bolded any different from a company like FoxNews? The only difference to me is that FoxNews has ads for you to watch.
There's zero unhealthy about it. It's "only" unhealthy if you start your own Patron telling them everything they want to hear and you don't attempt to challenge yourself or your listeners. Then when you introduce a new concept they bail on you. But that's the creator's fault. Not the fault of the paying customer.
And if this is a grift (not WayPoint specifically but Twitch, OnlyFans, and Patron), then the whole world of capitalism is one giant grift.