Here is a very touchy subject that a lot of indie artists don't know.
When your offered that $25,000 - $1,000,000 deal, its really a $25,000 - $1,000,000 loan.
I'm sure you all have seen this going around. 
Let me explain how this works so you have a better understanding on what type of deal you should be looking for.
Lets use the $1,000,000 deal for an example.
the word DEAL actually means LOAN.
Companies will sign you to this loan in hopes to get a return on their investment, basically your paying back the loan from the sales on your music.
Once you have paid back the company, you will start making .09 - .16 cents per Hard Copy (per unit)
Lets do the math.
If your album(s) sells for $9.99 and to pay back the loan AKA Deal of a $1,000,000 you would need to sell 100,100.1001001001.. Lets simplify 100,100.00 units to pay off your DEAL / LOAN
Maybe you did that in the first year and the hype was perfect. Now the DEAL / LOAN is paid off you will star getting your royalty rate between .09 - .16 cents per (per unit). Well, I sold 100,100 units so I'll do that again and make my money.
Let's do the math again. 100,100 X .09 - .16 cents = $9,00.09 - $16,000.16. Okay, let's say those were your dollar amounts per month $9,000.09 - $16,000.16. X 12 =$108,001 - $192,192. < Your Yearly Income. Sad fact that's how record labels work, everything you built or crafted is now theirs.
Here at Sikkidz Entertainment we don't do that, we are here for the artist and to help them grow.
We have a tier system that keeps us and the artist working evenly and if one is getting the paid the other is getting paid, it's a 2-way street here. Read More on SKE Tier System
The Higher you are on the tier the more artist gets paid.
Our Artists also get paid from merchandise sales. 15% - 35% artist gets
Our Artists get paid from distributions, Licensing, and sync. 60% - 85% artist gets.
How much do we generally invent in an Artist in a year? About $10,000.
We are just a small steppingstone and the people going and knocking on doors to represent you as an artist.
Some artists don't like that plan so they want to have 100% across the board. Okay I have you covered, we have monthly plans that the artist will receive,
Artists gets from merchandise sales. 100% artist gets
Artists get from distributions, Licensing, and sync. 100% artist gets.
Unfortunately, the tier system does not work with the monthly plans.
Food for thought