What Are Sound Recording Splits?

Note that the splits Also sometimes referred to as shares, the portion of ownership a rights holder has or the portion of income they are entitled to. described here are specific to recording Typically, the recorded performance of a musical work. Under copyright law, it is referred to and protected as a phonogram, defined as a fixation of sounds exclusively. and not songwriting The act of creating music or lyrics, or both.. You can find more information about songwriter splits in the Songwriter topic.

A quick note on terminology

The terms splits and shares Also sometimes referred to as splits, the portion of ownership a rights holder has or portion of income they are entitled to. are often used throughout the industry to talk about how to divide both the ownership of a sound recording between different rights holders A person or company that has Intellectual Property Rights in a musical work, performance or sound recording and the income from its commercial use. In general, we use the term splits throughout to cover both uses, but practice may vary in different contexts and different markets.

What are sound recording splits?

Sound recording splits are the percentage shares of rights The controls creators or rights holders have over what they have created or produced and over their identity and image. and income generated by the sound recording that each sound recording owner Under copyright law, the person or company responsible for the creation of the sound recording. and performer In the context of music, a creator playing a musical work live or on a sound recording. receives. This includes royalties Money paid for the right to use a musical work, performance or sound recording, typically but not always in the form of recurring payments and other income.

Sound recording splits can vary based on many factors, such as who owns the recording, who is the main or secondary artist In the context of music, a solo performer or group of performers who perform a musical work live or recorded., the applicable country's copyright law, the terms of the agreements between all the parties involved in the sound recording, and which rights are managed by CMOs Collective Management Organization: An organization that acts collectively on behalf of the rights holders it represents and collects and pays remuneration to rights holders. and what their respective rules are.

Owners of the sound recording, such as record labels A ​​​​​​company that invests in, manufactures, distributes, promotes, and ​​monetizes sound recordings on behalf of the ​​artist. or self-releasing artists Artists that release their music without the support of a record label., own the master rights The rights to the ownership of, and all other rights in, a sound recording. in that sound recording and hence will receive their share or split of any income generated for the master rights The rights to the ownership of, and all other rights in, a sound recording..

The performers involved in the sound recording will typically receive royalties for their performance In the context of music, when a musical work is played live or on a sound recording. and thus a share of the income generated from uses of the sound recording.

You can learn more about rights and how royalties are generated for these in our Getting Credited and Paid topic.

There is no standard guideline for how sound recording income or royalties are split. CMOs often have default rules, sometimes set by law. These rules differ from one country to another. Agreements in place between the record label and the artists or other performers can also determine what splits are applied.

For more information about record labels, check out the Record labels page.

If you are an independent artist A creator who does not have a contractual agreement with a record label and or music publisher. creating your own sound recordings, also known as a DIY artist, then you usually own all of the sound recording rights, and hence all income, in addition to some or all of the performer’s share, unless you agreed to share some of this with any other collaborators.

As a DIY artist, you will also be responsible for all the other activities a record label might typically carry out for their signed Refers to a creator who has a record label or music publisher contract. artists, such as clearing all rights from songwriters A person who makes an original contribution to the creation of a musical composition or lyrics. and music publishers A company that represents songwriters, supporting their career development, monetizing musical works, and protecting copyrights. ​​​, manufacturing and distributing both physical and digital formats, promoting, marketing, and licensing The process of granting permission to use copyrighted material, such as a musical work or sound recording. your sound recordings for use in films, TV shows, and commercials, and more.

Look up our topics on Distribution and Marketing, Music Creators’ Rights, Rights Transfer and Licensing, and Scope of Protection to dive deeper.

Video Credit: Amin Santosh, Parapix