I think Patreon works because people don't expect something in return by default, they just want to support someone or someone's work they're a fan of. It becomes one of those background / thoughtless payments, something left on until the person paying needs to save money or doesn't like the creator anymore.

It's where the business market is at as well, allowing e.g. Microsoft or Adobe to no longer have to force themselves to release new versions with stupid features to make more money than they ever have.