I think a big change is also cultural. Fewer people seem to be interested in their focus of choice remaining just a hobby. It's just too tempting to turn your audience into a profit generator when that's just a few clicks away (or so it seems) and you are getting companies offering to throw money at you for promotional deals. It also doesn't help that all the big platforms like to promote those who have succeeded in making being online their job, and in return that job includes gaming the algorithms to make sure they are seen.