The Badfinger analogy isn't really appropriate. When the band was at Apple, Apple paid all the recording costs and paid them a very healthy royalty on top of that which is pretty unheard of. That was The Beatles' doing. When they signed with Warner Bros., it was a no royalty deal where they were paid a lump sum for each album delivered so the recording costs were not recouped through royalties. The two reunion albums with Joey and Tommy were the more traditional setup where the band is given an advance for living expenses while recoding and that advance and the recording costs are recouped against future royalties. This doesn't affect publishing and songwriting royalties. That's where the money is for most recording artists. Most artists will never see any regular royalties unless they are a mega star.