I cannot agree with the idea that something wanting to pay the bills has "lost its soul".

For sure. I know a lot of Twitch streamers, and that is a full-time goddamn job. Wanting to be able to pay rent off of something that a lot of people like (and some of the streamers I know are north of 10,000 viewers when they're on, so while they're not huge they're not small either) is not a big ask. Yeah, there are alternatives--but if you like what you're watching and you're not hurting for cash, throw a buck a month in the hat.

I find Patreon funded content to be far less soulless than advertising funded content. (This comment brought to you by Audible).

I believe that's a risk and some projects have probably not managed it well. For what it's worth, I've been happy with the half-dozen or so projects I support on Patreon, so it's certainly not a universal failing. I think it's important for the creators to phrase it as supporting a work that is already free, rather than as charging for providing a service.