It's real. Ever heard of McAfee? He doesn't exactly charge people for his advice, but he is paid by the projects he promotes. He's the only high profile one crazy enough to admit to it, but I'm sure there are plenty of them in the wild. I wouldn't rule it out even from paid subscriptions.
That being said, this article's author attacks dishonest services while promoting his own and promising to be different. I'm not saying that they aren't legitimate, but make sure you take everything with a grain (or a tablespoon) of salt. Crypto trading is ruthless and you can never really trust anyone completely.