Nowhere in this statement does it say "gift rules only apply to friends and family"
If you reach the point where a substantial portion of your income is Patreon or whatever (and thus, you wouldn't be otherwise performing the entertainment service), I'm sure the IRS would view it differently.
"a recipient generally can exclude from gross income for federal income tax purposes a donation from a nongovernment donor as a gift if the donation is motivated by detached and disinterested generosity and is not in anticipation of an economic benefit or in return for services."
ref https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-wd/03-0025.pdf and Commissioner v. Duberstein, 363 U.S. 278 (1960)
perhaps, my categorization of "more than likely" could be incorrect. But given how relatively small[0] most accounts make on Liberapay, that is what I imagine most in the US would be calling it.