> the penalty falls unfairly on content producers

Not really. No-one is obligated to produce content; if a business model doesn't work, then you probably shouldn't do it.

So what business model should content producers use, if they can't use the "advertising can fund anything" hack? That's a broader conversation, and I think it's the right conversation for our society to have. Advertising is an expensive tax on our economy (and on human well-being) that doesn't need to exist.