[6stringmerc]

Very well thought out response and I think you do touch on something I'm aware of and might be able to mention:

There are fan-artist platforms in existence. Patreon is one of the most prominent. BitTorrent now has a "rolling" grant process (disclosure: I plan on applying) to nurture talent by way of financial and promotional backing. These avenues exist, but they are, frankly speaking, outside the RIAA-dominated easy-access to content services like YouTube or Spotify.

The music business claiming artists "used to" make a living off sound recordings is total garbage. It only applied to the top 1%. The tech industry claiming that it's "being persecuted and rights are being trampled" when the root-motivation is to disrupt an industry for profit without the bothersome issue of negotiating licenses for content is also garbage. In the middle, fans & artists both kind of lose out in the grand scheme of things.