Music split sheet template
A split sheet template that fills itself in. Put in the song, the writers and their shares. It checks the shares add up to 100, adds the recording side most templates leave out, and gives you a clean page to print and sign before anyone leaves the room.
No sign-up, nothing stored. Everything happens in your browser. Not legal advice.
How to use it
- 1Name the song. The working title is fine. Add the date you wrote it, while everyone is still in the room.
- 2Add every writer. Legal names, and their society and IPI numbers if they have them. Anyone who wrote words, melody or chords goes on.
- 3Agree the shares. Type each share or press "Split it equally". The total turns white when it reaches exactly 100.
- 4Write down the recording side. Who owns the master, what the producer gets, and any samples. It's a separate copyright from the song.
- 5Print it and sign it. "Print or save as PDF" opens a clean page. Everyone signs, everyone keeps a copy, and a photo of it goes in the release folder.
Why most artists don't have one
When our team went through the paperwork of the artists we work with in one day this October, more than half had no written split for a co-write or a producer, including artists years into their careers. Nobody had been careless. Nobody had told them that agreeing the shares out loud isn't the same as writing them down, or that the song and the recording are two different things to own.
What goes on the sheet
The song: title, date, and every writer with their legal name, their share, and their society and IPI numbers if they have them. Shares add up to 100. The recording: who owns the master, what the producer gets, and any samples, with the owner's permission attached. Signatures: everyone, the same day, each keeping a copy. If the song changes hands later, or a writer is added, you make a new sheet with a new date rather than editing the old one. Prefer paper? Download the blank split sheet (PDF).
After you've signed it
Register the song with the shares on the sheet. Writers register with the performing right society where they live, which is PRS for Music for anyone based in the UK. The recording goes to PPL, which is free. If nothing is coming out yet, that part can wait. Our guide to split sheets, master ownership and deal terms has the four pieces of paper in the order you need them.
Questions
What is a split sheet?
One page that says who wrote a song and what share of it each writer owns, signed by all of them. It's what your shares at the collecting societies should match, and what you show if anyone remembers it differently later.
When should we fill it in?
The day the song is written, before anyone leaves the room. A month later the memory of who did what has already moved, and a year later, if the song does well, it has moved a lot.
Do shares have to be equal?
No. Equal shares are common for two people writing together, and unequal shares are fine when everyone agrees. The only number that counts is the one every writer signed.
Does the producer go on the split sheet?
Only if they wrote part of the song: a hook, a melody, a chord sequence. Producing the recording is paid separately, through a fee, points on the recording or both, and that goes in the recording section of the sheet.
Is a split sheet a legal contract?
A signed split sheet is a written agreement between the writers. It isn't legal advice and it doesn't replace a contract that transfers rights, such as a publishing or label deal. Ask a music lawyer or the Musicians' Union before you sign one of those.
Is there a blank split sheet I can print instead?
Yes. The blank split sheet is a one-page PDF with the same boxes, linked below, for when you'd rather fill it in by hand in the room. Same rule: everyone signs the same day and keeps a copy.
Do you keep what I type?
No. The sheet is built in your browser. Nothing is sent to us or saved anywhere, so print it or copy the text before you close the page.
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