Sure, it's for eternity. But what about food & mortgage today? This is exactly how people get convinced to work for peanuts, because they're 'a part of something' or 'supporting the arts'. But in the end if the result is a for profit thing you should simply be paid.
You're completely correct, I just wanted to provide some context on why many people choose to work in entertainment.
IMHO it's high time labor law enforcement starts cracking down hard on entertainment. Shit pay is one thing, but at least everyone knows what they're dealing with signing the contract - for me the worse issue is the blatant ignorance of working hour limits, break requirements and (at least in location shooting) ignorance of workplace safety rules, that routinely gets people injured and sometimes even killed.
Reminds me of working on a ranch for community service for high school. I assumed I was working for some charity.
The truth is that the ranch charged for service. I don't think it was even a non-profit, but even if so, it was basically just a business this one asshole owned. I have no clue why it was helpful for the community to service it.
