Ask HN: Why did programmers forfeited their intellectual license?

I was always wondering about this. If you look at the film and music industry, the "artists" are treated like their work is something special. Not only they get money from licensing their works over and over again, but also they are getting residuals - indefinitely! Even their heirs can continue to receive them.

Whereas programmers, whose work literally makes the entire world go round these days, get one tiny insignificant payment, usually just on hourly basis, and that's it. A function you came up with might be the core engine that makes the entire [INSERT COMPANY NAME] work and make billions of dollars, yet you get nothing.

So why is that programmers just accepted this?