Split sheets
Written agreements between two or more composers.
Collaboration spurs creativity, but it can also stir up trouble if not properly managed. Do you know that you could be missing out on music publishing royalties if you are not using a split sheet? Let’s break down what a Split Sheet is and why you need one!
A Split Sheet is a written agreement between two or more composers (including producers who compose instrumentals) and lyricists, and is used to determine how much each person contributed to a song. This document is important to determine how much the contributor will be paid when income is generated through licensing their music.
If you composed a song alone, all music and lyrics, you own 100% of that song. But if you wrote lyrics to a song and created a melody for the lyrics and a producer composed an instrumental part, then you and the producer should sign a split sheet, stating that you and the producer wrote the song and that you have jointly composed. The split sheet helps to protect you if there are future disputes about who contributed what.
There are different ways to split up a song, depending on the substantiality and nature of contributions. One person may have come up with the lyrics, another person may have created a melodic hook for the lyrics, and another composed an instrumental part, or ‘beat’. You may hear different stories about who should get what percentage. There is no clear, ‘legal default’ and the definitions of ‘beat’, ‘producer’, even the word ‘music’, vary from person to person. It is a common error to say that a producer or beatmaker should always take 50% because they write ‘music’, whilst the hook writer only writes ‘lyrics’. A hook is often lyrics that are sung to a melody, and the melody should also be considered as part of the ‘music’. It’s important that music publishers are able to take a critical, reasonable and knowledgeable approach to splits – and not believe everything they hear!
Split sheet should include:
- Name of the song,
- Legal name of contributors,
- Their role in the song (optional),
- Percentage share of percentage of the song,
- Performing rights organization affiliation and publishing company if available
Splits don’t have to be agreed in a signed document to be legal, but it’s better to have a written record!
Also, split sheets are not deeds of assignment. Deeds of assignment must be in writing and involve the actual transfer of a composer’s share of copyright to someone else. That is different to simply agreeing to what the share of a song is, on a split sheet.