The problem runs deeper. To get companies to pay you, in particular enterprises, you have to participate in their high-touch/low value purchasing behavior. And

The problem runs deeper. To get companies to pay you, in particular enterprises, you have to participate in their high-touch/low value purchasing behavior. And that means you need large pockets which in turn means high prices. High prices means high expectations. Much of those $$$ go into marketing and sales, not product. Which is one reason most enterprise software sucks. That's the opposite of what OSS devs want to do: solve problems and provide efficient solutions. Its also the opposite of what users of OSS want: easy to acquire solutions to their problems (nobody except purchase officers and lawyers actually want high-touch/low-value procurement. Everybody knows its a waste of time & money.) Unfortunately most companies are not interested in buying solutions, but risk reduction (which they never actually get because all software comes with limited-to-the-max liability & warranty, just like OSS). Therefore we have to change not the OSS model, but its reputation. Licenses should say something like "free to use unless it generates commercial value. When it does you need to pay $ or risk your reputation". Sort of what the GPL does but without the virality.