Narrative
An advance is the cheque that feels like free money, and is not.
When a label or publisher signs an artist or writer, it often pays a lump sum up front: an advance. It can be life-changing money arriving before a single track is released, and it is the single most misunderstood payment in the business.
The key word is in the question: an advance is recoupable. It is not a gift and it is not a salary. It is, in effect, a loan against the artist's own future income, money paid now that the artist will repay later, out of the very their music goes on to earn.
That is why "is it free money?" has a one-word answer: no.