Split Disputes

What is a split dispute, and when would it occur?

A split Also sometimes referred to as shares, the portion of ownership a rights holder has or the portion of income they are entitled to. dispute is a disagreement about the division, i.e., share or split Also sometimes referred to as shares, the portion of ownership a rights holder has or the portion of income they are entitled to., of income generated by a musical work An original musical composition with or without lyrics. or sound recording Typically, the recorded performance of a musical work protected as a phonogram under copyright law..

Visit our topics, Songwriting, and Recording, to learn more about splits.

A split dispute might occur, typically between songwriters A person who makes an original contribution to the creation of a musical composition or lyrics., performers In the context of music, a creator playing a musical work live or on a sound recording. and other rights holders A person or company that has Intellectual Property Rights in a musical work, performance or sound recording, in a number of ways, including:

• If there is a misunderstanding or disagreement about how income should be split

• If a contract isn't clear about how the splits will be allocated

• If splits were never agreed upon in the first place

• If there are changes to the creative process after a contract has been signed

• If there is a lack of communication among multiple parties involved in the creation of the musical work or sound recording

We have more information on this on our Songwriter Splits and Sound Recording Splits pages.

How can a split dispute be resolved?

The first thing you can do is check with your CMO Collective Management Organization: An organization that acts collectively on behalf of the rights holders it represents and collects and pays remuneration to rights holders., as any incorrect splits may simply be an error of the registration The process of submitting information relating to musical works and sound recordings to an appropriate registration body, for example, copyright ownership information submitted to a Collective Management Organization or copyright office. process and can be easily corrected.

If this is not the case, you may need to provide evidence of your split entitlement to support a claim. Evidence could include documented communication of previously agreed splits, like split sheets A written document that identifies each contributor to a musical work or sound recording and their ownership share., contracts and agreements, emails or text messages, or the report of an expert who would evaluate the individual contributions and attribute splits to them.

You may present this evidence to your CMO and the other parties involved and request the registration be updated with new splits. When a CMO receives this request, they usually notify the other parties involved.

Note there are no standard rules for allocating musical works and sound recordings shares or splits. Shares or splits must always be negotiated and agreed upon.

If the request isn't accepted by all parties involved, you may need support from your CMO or consult a copyright lawyer to pursue a voluntary agreement When the parties involved in a dispute agree on a solution without having to go to court.. However, if the dispute can't be resolved via an agreement or alternative dispute resolution Voluntary processes where parties involved in a dispute resolve it without going to court. methods, the parties may have to go to court to determine how the income should be shared.

Find more information on this further in this topic.

Image credit: Jakob Johansson, Parapix