When one producer's loop becomes the heart of another producer's beat, both of them made that beat. The loop maker is not a supplier; they are a producer on the record, and the question is how the credit and the money are shared between two people who each did part of the work.
There is no single rule. But there are conventions most producers recognise, a handful of numbers that come up again and again, and one habit that prevents almost every argument: writing it down before the beat goes out. Where this guide gives a number, it names who said it.
First, the two copyrights
Every released song carries two separate copyrights, and they pay in different ways:
- The composition: the song itself, its music and lyrics. Income from it is what producers usually mean by publishing: performance royalties collected by PROs, mechanical royalties, and sync fees.
- The master: one particular recording of that song. Income from it comes from streams and sales of the recording, and a producer's share of it is usually expressed as points or as a fee.
A loop can contribute to both. The chords and melody in it are part of the composition; the audio itself becomes part of the master. That is why a loop maker's share has two halves, and why it helps to agree both.
Where a loop maker fits
In most loop collaborations there are two producers on the beat: the loop maker, who wrote the musical idea, and the collaborator, who built the drums, bass, arrangement and mix. Together they are the production side of the record. When an artist writes lyrics and a topline over the beat, the artist or writers are the other side.
So the loop maker's share is usually a share of the production side, divided with the collaborator, rather than something separate from it.
How the composition side is commonly split
How much of a song's writing goes to the beat depends heavily on the genre:
- In hip-hop and much of pop, the beat is treated as a large part of the composition. Ari Herstand, author of How to Make It in the New Music Business, writes that in hip-hop "oftentimes the producer who makes the beat will demand 50%", with the top-line writers splitting the rest. BeatStars' own guidance for beat sales puts publishing "typically 50/50 between the producer and the artist".
- In song-led genres, the view is often narrower: that a producer earns a writing share only for contributing to the words or melody, not for the arrangement. A loop that carries the melody is exactly that kind of contribution.
When two producers share the beat, they split the production side between them. Herstand's description of several producers on one track is that "each producer would split up the total producer percentage". BeatStars, when collaborators are added to a track, divides publishing "equally among the collaborators unless otherwise specified". Equal is a common starting point for a loop maker and a collaborator, and it is only a starting point: one of you may have done far more.
A worked example
This is an example of the arithmetic, not a recommendation. A rapper records over a beat, and the production side of the song is agreed at half. If the loop maker and the collaborator share that half equally, each holds a quarter of the song's composition, and the rapper holds the other half. Change any one of those agreements and every number moves, which is why they all need writing down.
The master side: points, fees and profit share
Producers are usually paid on the recording in one of three ways: an upfront fee, points (a percentage of the recording's royalties), or a share of whatever the beat earns when it is sold or licensed. Herstand puts major-label producer points "typically anywhere from 3-7 points"; BeatStars' guidance puts master points "between 2% and 5%". Both are about deals with artists, not between two producers.
Between a loop maker and a collaborator, the usual question is simpler: whatever the production side earns from the recording, how is it shared? Agree it as a proportion of the production side, so it holds whether the beat earns a small fee or a major-label advance.
Credit
Credit is separate from money, and just as easy to forget. Agree how both names appear:
- As producers, both credited equally, for example "prod. by Sam & Jordan"
- As producer and co-producer, where one of you led and the other contributed
- In the metadata, so both names reach the streaming services, the marketplace listing and the PRO registration, not only the video description
Many loop makers publish their terms and ask to be credited as a producer or co-producer on anything built from their loops. Whatever you agree, use the same names everywhere.
Put it in writing: the split sheet
A split sheet is a short document that records who owns what share of a song. BeatStars' advice is to sign one "as quickly as possible after the song is finished" when collaborating online, and, for exactly this situation, that a producer sending their work to another producer should provide a split sheet the other signs and keeps with the finished beat. A useful one records:
- The song or beat title, and the date
- Everyone's full legal name, their role, and the name they are credited under
- Each person's share of the composition, adding up to exactly 100%
- Each producer's share of the production side of the master, and of any fee or advance
- Each writer's PRO and IPI number
- Everyone's signature, even if it is an electronic one
For an everyday collaboration a clear, signed split sheet is often all you need. For a large placement, have a lawyer draw up a proper agreement, as Herstand also recommends. The split sheet guide has a blank template to download.
Registering it
A split only pays if it is registered where the money is collected:
- With your PRO, each writer registers their share of the composition. The shares on every registration must match.
- With a publishing administrator or marketplace, registration typically asks for every songwriter's legal name and splits that total exactly 100%. BeatStars Publishing says songs "submitted with splits that add up to more or less than 100% will be rejected".
- For producer points on the master, the artist usually has to send a letter of direction to the collecting body (SoundExchange in the US, or PPL in the UK) naming the producers' percentages.
Registration is easiest on the day the beat goes out, while everyone's details are to hand. Six months later, after a placement, it is a chase.
Loop kits are different
A loop from a royalty-free sample pack is licensed by the pack's own terms, and those terms decide what you owe. Many paid and free kits are not royalty-free at all, and ask for credit and a split if a beat built on them is placed. Read the terms before you build.
A loop on ColabLoop is neither. It is never sold or licensed: it is the start of a collaboration, and its owner is on the split for anything built from it.
When things change later
A beat that was sold to one artist can be placed again, go viral, or end up on a label release. The split you agreed follows the song, so the same shares apply unless both of you agree otherwise, in writing. If a deal changes what the production side earns, the proportion you agreed between the two producers is what carries across, which is the reason to agree a proportion and not a fixed amount.
How ColabLoop handles it
ColabLoop does not set your split, does not store your percentages, and does not check any registration. What it does is make sure the conversation happens, and the details are there when you need them:
- The first full download in a collaboration room exchanges both producers' credits and contact details automatically, including each producer's legal name, PRO affiliation and IPI number where they have filled them in: the things a split sheet and a registration ask for. Filling them in on your account before you collaborate is what makes that exchange useful.
- When the beat goes out, the collaborator records how: a marketplace listing with its link, or a direct sale registered against the owner's IPI. Both producers then attest that the owner is on the split, and the owner can send it back if it is not right. Two attestations close the collaboration.
What ColabLoop keeps is a record that each of you said so, and when. Agreeing the numbers, signing the split sheet and registering the shares is still done by the two of you.
Sources: Ari Herstand, How do producer and songwriter splits work (Ari's Take, updated September 2025); BeatStars, Baseline standards for producer agreements (October 2024), What is a split sheet? (November 2021), What information do I need to register my song with BeatStars Publishing? and What you need to know about track creation; Tony van Veen, When should a producer get a publishing split? (Disc Makers, November 2020).