tho, how is it that it's okay for companies to take advantage of free labor but not okay for artists to take advantage of a brewery or restaurant not charging them for a few beers or a free meal?

are you seriously suggesting that a musician giving a 2 hour performance for 50 people in exchange for a few free beers is equivalent to exploitation on the scale of say, microsoft using linux

yeah, that's a good point. it's hypocritical how companies can get away with taking advantage of people, but artists