Split sheet.
Before the bounce.

What a split sheet is for

A split sheet records who wrote a song and how ownership of that song is divided. It covers the composition: the words and music. It is separate from themaster recording, which is the specific audio file that streams. Producer points on the master, beat lease terms, and who paid for the studio are a different conversation and a different document.

The sheet matters later, when somebody registers the song with a performing rights organization, when a sync placement asks who has to approve it, or when two people remember the session differently. Signed paper from the day of the session settles that faster than anybody's memory.

When to fill it out

• At the session, before people leave. Agreement is easiest when the song is new and nobody knows yet whether it will be worth anything.
• Again if the song changes. A new verse from a feature or a new writer on the hook means a new sheet with everybody's signature.
• Before you upload. Your distributor will want credits, and your PRO registration needs the shares to match what every writer registers on their side.

The fields, in plain terms

• Name. Each person's legal name, the name their PRO account is under. Put the stage name in brackets if it helps people recognize it.
• Role. What they contributed. Lyrics and music are both writing. A producer who made the beat is usually a writer of the composition too.
• PRO. The performing rights organization the writer belongs to: ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC in the US, or another society if they are registered somewhere else.
• IPI / CAE. The writer's international identifying number, listed in their PRO account. It is how royalties find the right person when two writers share a name.
• Publisher. Leave blank or write "self" if the writer has no publishing deal. If they do, their publisher's name goes here.
• Share. Each person's percentage of the composition. The column has to total exactly 100%. The tool will not let you forget.

Splitting it

Under US copyright law, co-writers of a joint work with nothing in writing are presumed to own equal shares. That is often not what the room intended, which is why the sheet exists. Some rooms split evenly between everyone who was there. Some split lyrics and music down the middle and then divide each half. Whatever the method, agree on it out loud, write the numbers down, and get the signatures the same day. If a producer is also asking for points on the master, settle that separately, in writing, before you agree to anything.

After it is signed

Give every contributor a copy. Then each writer registers their share with their own PRO, and the numbers should match the sheet. The full walkthrough is inhow to register your songs before you release them, and the money that registration unlocks is covered incollecting performance royalties.