they moved to tech and become trillionarires instead of billionaires, I guess. I know we romantacize old Disney, but even some times in the 70's and 80's they were barely pulling it together. Art has always operated on thin margins
(which is exactly why Disney's biggest markets isn't entertainment. But that's a whole other rabbit hole).
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but to answer your question more directly: depends on your scale. a few (I literally mean "can count the number on your hands") small creators became billionaires over their work, a handful became millionaires but didn't try to expand it into some corporation. others live a modest life in the solid upper middle class.
Very few people are trying to be corporations, especially artists. the skillsets needed to be a business vs. an artist are almost orthogonal.
As a hobby content creator, I absolutely disagree. My content is mine, if someone else wants to use it for whatever purposes, that party has to ask for, and get permission, to do so. Which I might or might not give.
But actually I hearby claim it as my own, and if you want to use it my license fee is one million internet bucks per use.
And to split hairs: you don't need to distribute your work to have it stolen. the various leaks and hacks over the years attests to that.
Pragmatically, no. But legally that's the exact point of copyright.
We consider certain information as being capable of being stolen (identity, deeds, various military secrets), so it needs protection and punishment for trying to steal such information. Else there's no disincentive for identity theft nor hacking a private database (and there should be, in my opinion. Once again, information does not have to he distributed to be extracted).
2. You either used it in a catalogue, brochure or for a website; in the physical media case I have the proof, I wouldn't if I wouldn't have found the infriction, by use on the internet, well, it's the internet
3. There are international law firms specialized just for that
2. Prove I've used your content
3. Come collect your fee on my jurisdiction