A recording artist who wishes to secure a record deal may choose to sign with either a major record label or a smaller, independent record label. Artist contract terms may differ greatly depending on the type of record label an artist signs with. Smaller labels tend to give artists more creative control and freedom, while larger record labels have bigger budgets and are able spend more to promote artists, though they exert more control over an artist's output. Advance payments are common in record label contracts, though often these advance payments must be paid back to the record label. Consequently, new artists may not see a profit for some time, as any profits made initially will be used to back back their monetary advance. Many recording artists find this practice unfair, and even the most successful musicians have been trapped in contracts that made them little money to support themselves with.