I think the author is trying to stay focused only on the issue of adtech vs (as he calls it) Madison Avenue ads. You also raise relevant points but they can be separate issues.
Anyhow to your point, I think the problem is that YouTube creators don't really think of themselves as being sponsored by brands. They've internalized only that they get paid to make content people watch. And that's not entirely accurate.
But for all the problems the author identified with adtech it has afforded people such as those on YouTube to enjoy what may be a fleeting era of getting paid to be genuine and uncensored. Perhaps membership fees to the platform that get allocated to creators can succeed here.
Anyhow to your point, I think the problem is that YouTube creators don't really think of themselves as being sponsored by brands. They've internalized only that they get paid to make content people watch. And that's not entirely accurate.
But for all the problems the author identified with adtech it has afforded people such as those on YouTube to enjoy what may be a fleeting era of getting paid to be genuine and uncensored. Perhaps membership fees to the platform that get allocated to creators can succeed here.