Writers get it, too. Harlan Ellison has a famous rant about this that boils down to "Fuck you, pay me!" It's pretty sweet.
The most logical reasoning I've heard is that if someone has an exciting new project, you ask yourself (or them if you're feeling brave) are you making any money off this project? If so, than there's no damn reason in the world why they ought to expect people to chip in for free, unless this is a bona fide charity or a favor for a friend. Promises of "exposure" count for shit, because if they were big and famous enough to give you a decent amount of exposure to the relevant people, they'd be big and famous enough to pay you.
99% of the time, it's just some asshole trying to scam free stuff.
Re: Hey, artist, work for me...FOR FREE!!!! (rant)
The most logical reasoning I've heard is that if someone has an exciting new project, you ask yourself (or them if you're feeling brave) are you making any money off this project? If so, than there's no damn reason in the world why they ought to expect people to chip in for free, unless this is a bona fide charity or a favor for a friend. Promises of "exposure" count for shit, because if they were big and famous enough to give you a decent amount of exposure to the relevant people, they'd be big and famous enough to pay you.
99% of the time, it's just some asshole trying to scam free stuff.