The label provides the artist with an upfront cash advance. An advance is a loan, an "advanced payment" that expresses the label's belief that the artist's output (records, singles) will generate enough revenue to cover the advance, plus the costs of producing and promoting the music, plus profits. read more
Unfortunately, any artist that’s actually happy about an advance probably doesn’t know much about the inner-workings of the music industry as cash advances usually have to be paid back in future royalties from your music. read more
Artist Glossary of Industry Terms: "Advance" An “advance” is almost always defined as a pre-payment of royalties, whether the advance is paid by record company to an artist, a publisher to a writer or a merchandiser to an artist. read more