IMHO a major part of the problem is that the Internet never had a mechanism for paying for good content. Everything is “free” therefore ads emerge as the only monetization strategy and you did a good job outlining the rest.
I’ve started trying to pay for good journalism, especially good indie journalism. I also Patreon a bunch of podcasts, buy high quality software if the price is reasonable, buy albums of my favorite music, buy films, and so on, while actively avoiding both gratuitous subscription models and the ad web.
Pay for it or it either doesn’t get made or it pays for you. Free is a lie and piracy undermines quality.
Edit:
All the paying for good stuff I outlined above averages out to around $100-$150/month. It’s less than I usually spend on restaurants and coffee shops and far less than groceries for our family. Restaurants in particular feel like a far more frivolous expense.
I’ve started trying to pay for good journalism, especially good indie journalism. I also Patreon a bunch of podcasts, buy high quality software if the price is reasonable, buy albums of my favorite music, buy films, and so on, while actively avoiding both gratuitous subscription models and the ad web.
Pay for it or it either doesn’t get made or it pays for you. Free is a lie and piracy undermines quality.
Edit:
All the paying for good stuff I outlined above averages out to around $100-$150/month. It’s less than I usually spend on restaurants and coffee shops and far less than groceries for our family. Restaurants in particular feel like a far more frivolous expense.