Note, that the 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 The act of creating music or lyrics, or both. and not 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.. You can find more information about sound recording splits in the Recording topic.
When there is more than one A person who makes an original contribution to the creation of a musical composition or lyrics. working in collaboration, it’s vital to agree on songwriter splits as early as possible.
A quick note on terminology
The terms splits and are often used throughout the music industry to talk about how to divide both the The controls creators or rights holders have over what they have created or produced and over their identity and image. in a An original musical composition with or without lyrics. between different and the Money paid for the right to use a musical work, performance, or sound recording, typically, but not always, in the form of recurring payments. for the use of a musical work between different A person or company that has Intellectual Property Rights in a musical work, performance or sound recording, who may or may not be authors of the work. We generally use the term splits to cover both uses, but the practice may vary in different contexts and markets.
What are songwriter splits?
Each creator who makes an A creative contribution to a musical work that is sufficiently distinct from any pre-existing musical work contribution to the musical work is a songwriter and, under National laws that protect creators' and other rights holders' moral and economic rights in musical works, performances, and sound recordings., is called an author and can own a share of its rights. You can learn more about National laws that protect creators' and other rights holders' moral and economic rights in musical works, performances, and sound recordings. and in the Music Creators’ Rights topic.
Songwriter splits are how the ownership of rights, and therefore the Public acknowledgment of someone's contribution to the creation of a musical work, a live performance, or sound recording, for example, a songwriter's or performer's name. and Money paid for the right to use a musical work, performance, or sound recording, typically, but not always, in the form of recurring payments., of a musical work are divided in percentages. A musical work equals 100 percent; therefore, all contributing songwriters need to split the 100 percent between them. For example, four songwriters creating a new musical work that are splitting equally might agree on getting 25 percent of the copyright ownership of the musical work.
Example of a 4-way songwriter split in which each songwriter receives 25 percent of the copyright ownership of the musical work.
Note: Splits do not have to be equal, subject to negotiation.
The copyright of musical works consists of several rights. Commercially, the most important are The right to reproduce and distribute a musical work. and The right to play a musical work publicly, live or as a sound recording of a musical work. You can learn more about these rights in the Music Creators’ Rights topic.
The mechanical and performing rights in a musical work can be split differently and earn royalties in different ways. You can learn more about royalties in the Getting Credited and Paid topic.
Often, songwriters agree to split the rights fifty-fifty between A collection of notes, melodies, chords, rhythms, arrangements, instrumentation, and more, excluding lyrics. and The words written to be performed by singers, rappers, and other vocalists.. However, this can change depending on each musical work, country of origin, genre, or number of contributors involved in creating it. There is no standard guideline for what percentage split a songwriter or other rights holder might get, though An organization that acts collectively on behalf of the rights holders it represents and collects and pays remuneration to rights holders. often have default rules, sometimes set by law. These rules differ from one country to another, but in some countries, for example, they limit the share a A company that represents songwriters, supporting their career development, monetizing musical works, and protecting copyrights. can have of a musical work.
Example of copyright ownership split 50/50 between composition and lyrics. Note: Splits do not have to be equal, subject to negotiation
If splits cannot be agreed, CMOs can help, and there are also An organization that acts collectively on behalf of the rights holders it represents and collects and pays remuneration to rights holders., When parties involved in a dispute agree to bring their dispute to a neutral third party, who will make a decision to resolve it. and A form of dispute resolution where parties submit a dispute concerning a particular technical issue to a neutral third party, called an expert, who will make a decision. services that are available to the parties, or as a last resort, splits can be decided by a A court or other official judicial body established by law to resolve legal disputes..
Visit our Resolving Disputes topic to learn more.
Why agreeing on songwriter splits early is so important
Songwriters collaborating on a musical work should always agree on the Also sometimes referred to as shares, the portion of ownership a rights holder has or the portion of income they are entitled to. as early as possible and always before commercially releasing the The term "song" does not have a legal definition. It is frequently used to mean "musical work” – the composition and lyrics (if any) created by songwriters and composers. However, it could also refer to a “sound recording” (a specific recording of a musical work), or a “performance” (a live performance of a musical work)., which means the recording and distribution of the musical work. If splits aren't agreed upon and properly documented when the musical work is Having submitted 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. with a CMO, none of the songwriters will be able to be paid whenever their musical work is used, such as on streaming platforms, radio, or TV stations, bars, restaurants, clubs, etc. It also helps to avoid unnecessary and often costly legal disputes about who owns what share of the rights.
Agreeing and properly documenting songwriter splits is essential for getting the musical work Unique alphanumeric codes used to identify creators, rights holders, musical works, and sound recordings., the International Standard Musical Work Code: a unique identifier for musical works., which is required for crediting, tracking, and paying your income.
To learn more about the steps needed to get properly credited and paid, visit the topic on Registering Musical Works.
Further Reading
You can also learn more about CMOs on our Collective Management Organizations page. For more specific information about splits and royalty shares in your country, contact your local CMO.
Image credit: Nils Emil Nylander