What did the content creators intend when they accepted investment to realise their works. Or what did they intend when they agreed to provide their creative in

What did the content creators intend when they accepted investment to realise their works. Or what did they intend when they agreed to provide their creative input to a movie for a fee. Or what did they intend when they signed the rights to their work over to a distributor in exchange for some form of compensation or royalty payments?