Yeah, Jellyfin could go closed source and enshitify but up until that point, the source would be available to fork. I hope that Jellyfin doesn’t go that way but if it does, I think someone would fork the project and continue developing and supporting the software.
Clearly, given Plex and Emby’s history, it is a threat to Jellyfin as well.
Further to this, I heard Cory Doctorow talk about open source licensing being a Ulysses Pact. Basically Ulysses wanted to hear the sirens song. Normally, hearing it would drive you mad and you would wreck upon the rocks. Ulysses ordered his men to bind their ears with wax so they would not be affected by the sirens song. He also ordered them to tie him to the mast.
In the moment, he knew he would not be strong enough to resist the sirens song and because he was bound to the mast, he could not jump overboard. In the same way, people that use open source licenses on their projects are binding themselves to the open source license so that if a large temptation was to present itself (such as investors wanting to give them life changing money in exchange for mistreating their customers) they are already bound by that license and cannot break that bond.
I think the economy has bigger problems than you not being a good little consumer.
Ok boomer…
But seriously, I’m old enough to remember the world when it was black and white only. When the world got upgraded to color it really changed things.