While I've disagreed with you on other things, I pretty much agree with everything you've mentioned here. However it should be noted that the MOD-t doesn't use proprietary filament. They pretty clearly see what a PR hit printing companies take for doing that. Locking down files is a bit easier and more widely accepted. The MOD-t will take any old g-code you put into it, but I agree, if there's a neat thing on the NewMatter store, I'll probably buy it without a second thought. But then, even without widespread DRM, I do pay money for models every now and then.

I think a bit part of the DRM philosophy is that big companies must accept that no DRM method is perfect, and that a badly implemented DRM hurts sales more than piracy. This is what really hurt the big recording labels back in the early '00s. They were so desperate for it to perfectly lock down files that they were willing to hurt the customer experience. Not only did it hurt sales, but it pushed people towards piracy, encouraging more and more sophisticated ways of bypassing the DRM systems.

New Matter (and it appears most companies that are sophisticated enough to be in the 3D printing industry) seems to understand that DRM is acceptable if it stays out of the way of the user experience. To a degree, g-code is already more or less locked to a machine thanks to the machine's settings being hard-baked into the file. If a company is selling g-code they don't have to chip proprietary filament, they can just sell a "Guaranteed to work with New Matter Files" seal on filaments they've tested to have exactly the melting point and consistency that will work with the settings in their store-sold files. It's easy for them, easy and convenient for the user, lets them get a little money from filament, a bit more money from files, a lot of sales of the printers (maybe a little money there too), and nobody even sees the first hint of DRM slowing their machine down.