> But I am under no impressions that I have some kind of personal relationship with this artist.
What has that to do with anything? You don't pay because you want them to like you, you pay because you want to give them the chance to keep making music in the future.
For that reason, on free support platforms like Patreon, I'm pretty tough about not "gilding the lily". If someone is clearly well-funded enough to have artistic freedom, with a good margin of safety, I look for someone else to support, even if I love them.
What has that to do with anything? You don't pay because you want them to like you, you pay because you want to give them the chance to keep making music in the future.
For that reason, on free support platforms like Patreon, I'm pretty tough about not "gilding the lily". If someone is clearly well-funded enough to have artistic freedom, with a good margin of safety, I look for someone else to support, even if I love them.