Most (all?) Games already have a mechanism to pay. I'm not big on paying for social media or subscriptions in general. Hive already has a problem attracting and retaining users. I don't see how making them pay will help matters. I suppose front end authors could force a beneficiary and charge a small percent that way. I think 3speak does this and so does ecency when you post a video (but you can change it).
I totally agree with you that hive has an issue with retaining users. But we shouldn't think only about content creators as users. When I look at how Splinterlands evolved, they had to implement a system that you have to first invest before you can get rewards. It didn't prevent people from joining. Sometimes people don't appreciate what is for free. If they pay for it, they are probably more willing to try a second time. The beneficiary reward might be a solution. 3speak is doing it actively already, inleo as well. I didn't know about ecency.