What is a split sheet? A template for producers

A split sheet is the one piece of paper that stops a good collaboration turning into an argument. It takes ten minutes, it is free, and almost every dispute over who owns part of a song starts with the words "we never wrote it down."

This guide covers what a split sheet is, when to sign one, what goes on it for a loop collaboration, the mistakes that make one useless, and a blank template at the end that you can download and use. For how the shares themselves are usually worked out, read the loop maker splits guide first.

What a split sheet is, and what it isn't

A split sheet is a short document that records who contributed to a song and what share of it each person owns. In BeatStars' words, "split sheets determine each contributor's ownership percentage for a given copyright", and those percentages decide how royalties are paid out later.

It is not a registration. Signing one does not tell your PRO, your distributor or a marketplace anything; each of you still registers your share with them. And it is not a substitute for a contract on a big deal. Ari Herstand, who publishes a sample split sheet, is clear that his "is NOT a legal document" and recommends a lawyer for a formal agreement. For an everyday collaboration between two producers, though, a clear sheet that everyone has signed is what the rest of the paperwork is built on.

When to sign one

As early as the split is agreed, and always before the beat goes out.

BeatStars' advice is that people in a session together should sign one "before leaving the room", and that online collaborators should do it "as quickly as possible after the song is finished". It also covers the loop case directly: when one producer sends their work to another, the producer sending it should include a split sheet, which the other signs and keeps with the finished beat.

Signing after release is still better than never, but it is signing after the moment when anyone had a reason to be generous.

What goes on a split sheet

Songtrust, which administers publishing for independent songwriters, lists the essentials as "each songwriter's legal name, contact information, ownership percentage, affiliations, and all available song metadata", including whether the song uses a copyrighted sample. For a loop collaboration, that becomes:

• The song or beat title, and the date the split was agreed
• The loop it was built on, and who owns it
• Whether it contains a sample of someone else's recording, and what
• For each person: their full legal name, the name they are credited under, their role, what they contributed, their PRO and IPI number, any publisher or administrator, and an email address
• Each person's share of the composition, which must add up to exactly 100%
• Each producer's share of the production income, such as fees, points and beat sales, also adding up to 100% across the producers
• Signatures and dates from everyone listed. Songtrust notes that a split agreement needs "signatures (with execution dates) from all parties that contributed to the work"

Keeping the composition and the production income as two separate totals is the detail that most often goes missing. They are different money, paid by different people, and the loop maker splits guide explains why.

Mistakes that make a split sheet useless

• Shares that don't add up to 100%. A registration will be refused: BeatStars Publishing says songs "submitted with splits that add up to more or less than 100% will be rejected".
• Producer names instead of legal names. Royalties are paid to people, not tags. BeatStars asks for the legal names of all songwriters for exactly that reason.
• No PRO or IPI numbers. Without them, a collaborator trying to register your share cannot find you in the system.
• Unsigned, or undated. A sheet only one person signed records one person's opinion.
• Mixing up the composition and the recording. One percentage for "the song" leaves the production income unaddressed, and that is often where the upfront money is.
• Leaving out a sample. If the loop contains someone else's recording, it has to be cleared whatever your sheet says.
• Not updating it. When an artist writes a topline over the beat, the composition gains new writers. Everyone's share moves, and a new sheet with everyone on it replaces the old one.

The template

A blank split sheet for a loop collaboration, as plain text. Download it, or copy it into a document or a message, fill it in, and have everyone sign and keep a copy. Add a contributor block for each extra person.

SPLIT SHEET

Song or beat title: ____________________________
Date the split was agreed: ____________
Built on a loop? Loop title and its owner: ____________________________
Contains a sample of someone else's recording?  No / Yes: ____________________________

CONTRIBUTORS (add a block for each person)

1. Legal name: ____________________________
   Credited as: ____________________________
   Role (loop maker / producer / co-producer / writer / artist): ____________
   What they contributed: ____________________________
   PRO: ____________   IPI number: ____________
   Publisher or administrator (if any): ____________________________
   Email: ____________________________
   Share of the composition: ______ %
   Share of production income (fees, points, beat sales): ______ %

2. Legal name: ____________________________
   Credited as: ____________________________
   Role (loop maker / producer / co-producer / writer / artist): ____________
   What they contributed: ____________________________
   PRO: ____________   IPI number: ____________
   Publisher or administrator (if any): ____________________________
   Email: ____________________________
   Share of the composition: ______ %
   Share of production income (fees, points, beat sales): ______ %

3. Legal name: ____________________________
   Credited as: ____________________________
   Role (loop maker / producer / co-producer / writer / artist): ____________
   What they contributed: ____________________________
   PRO: ____________   IPI number: ____________
   Publisher or administrator (if any): ____________________________
   Email: ____________________________
   Share of the composition: ______ %
   Share of production income (fees, points, beat sales): ______ %

TOTALS (each must add up to exactly 100%)
   Composition, across everyone:           ______ %
   Production income, across the producers: ______ %

How any upfront fee or advance is shared: ____________________________

AGREED BY EVERYONE ABOVE

1. Signature: ____________   Printed legal name: ____________   Date: ____________
2. Signature: ____________   Printed legal name: ____________   Date: ____________
3. Signature: ____________   Printed legal name: ____________   Date: ____________

This sheet records what the people above agreed. It is not legal advice or a registration:
each writer still registers their share with their PRO, publisher or distributor.

After you sign it

• Everyone keeps a copy. A photo of a signed page, or a signed PDF, stored somewhere you will find it in two years.
• Register the shares. Each writer registers their share of the composition with their PRO, and the shares on every registration should match the sheet. For producer points on a recording, the artist usually sends a letter of direction to the collecting body. The loop maker splits guide covers registration in more detail.
• Keep the conversation with it. The messages in which you agreed the split are useful context if anyone ever asks how you got to the numbers.

Split sheets and ColabLoop

ColabLoop does not write, store or check a split sheet. It helps you fill one in and makes sure the agreement happens before the collaboration closes:

• The first full download in a collaboration room sends both producers each other's legal name, PRO and IPI number, where each has filled them in on their account. Those are the fields a split sheet asks for, arriving at the moment you need them.
• When the beat goes out, both producers attest that the loop's owner is on the split, and the owner can send it back if it isn't right. ColabLoop records those attestations and the date; the sheet and the registrations are yours.

Sources: BeatStars, What is a split sheet? (November 2021) and What information do I need to register my song with BeatStars Publishing?; Songtrust, The ultimate split sheet for professional songwriters; Ari Herstand, How do producer and songwriter splits work (Ari's Take).