This is why I love Bandcamp. Lossless format for my good stereo at home, mp3's for my car, and streaming when I'm at work.
There is a whole class of people who are content listening to whatever is on the radio or the same 20 year old CD's they've had forever without ever seeking new music or even knowing what's playing. That's really what I meant by people without paid subscriptions not caring.
I prefer the subscription model. I rarely get hooked on an album, but when I do, I'll listen to it on repeat for 1- a few months - and then I'll might not ever listen to it much again. These albums might be the only ones that make sense for me to buy (and even though, maybe not - I might hate it in 3 months - but let's consider the expense like a circus ticket or something, pay to experience pleasure).
On the other hand, a bunch of the stuff I hear on Spotify, I never seek again, it's just background noise. Sometimes this turns into a relationship and they win a fan, sometimes they don't.
The best way to support artists is by attending shows.
I have been hooked on Mac Miller's album Swimming for the past few weeks. Sadly, he passed, but he's the first artist I've ordered merch for, maybe ever, because I liked the album so much. Highly recommended. Start on track one and play through.
Or aren't interested in supporting closed corporations that benefit financially more than the artists who produced the music in the first place. It's a predatory system trying to get grandfathered in from the (g)olden music industry days, and to be fair involves bigger fish than streaming services (labels, promoters, etc.).
I'd provide a counter argument putting blame on artists: those who aren't selling and promoting themselves via a personal website or websites like Bandcamp probably aren't that interested in monetizing their music career.
As someone still paying monthly subscriptions to streaming services, I've recently begun to purchase more DRM-free music in lossless format. I get the best possible quality of audio, directly support the artist (or more directly than via streaming), and I get to keep the music indefinitely, as long as I can manage the storage requirements. It's not cheap nor easy, but I believe it's the fair approach for consuming music, and look forward to the day I disable my streaming subscriptions.