There is another indirect answer to your question: there are some very well-known artists who will say that if their name goes on an album, they may help increase the sale of disks, and so they ask for an advance for every 100,000 disks sold, for instance. That is an advance. Someone who takes a financial risk by deciding to pay for a song written by Luc Plamondon or Gordon Lightfoot, for instance, may ask for an advance for a larger number of sold copies.
On March 6th, 2012. See this statement in context.