NFTs are not being seen or used as a ‘system built to funnel money … to artists’. That maybe one vision you have for them, but it is not the artists getting paid for the NFTs. Some company that is hosting/running/administering a blockchain is getting money. There have been numerous cases and public postings about these companies selling NFTs to buyers and the artist did not know, authorize, or consent to the sale.

Sure, maybe that is one possible usage, i.e. artists getting paid for art, but for now there doesn’t seem to be any patronage happening. It’s all corporate press pushes or scammy looking behaviors.