i work as a contractor and its completely reasonable to expect payment or have it clearly discussed. its upsetting if kansas'/the us' culture is that much more opaque. its upsetting if it isn't and this is *just* transmisogyny and ableism. i hope future projects are far kinder and clearer with you.

as a university student on a fairly prestigious animation in my country, animation students here are absolutely expected to pay composers for film projects, even if they're fellow students who are also getting graded on work, even though we're all broke young adults.