Split sheet: what it is, template and how to split
Updated September 30, 2026 · by Tarik Hamiche, founder of Muzisecur
A split sheet (also called a songwriter split agreement) is a document signed by everyone who created a song. It records who took part, in what role (lyricist, composer, beatmaker…) and what percentage of the songwriting rights each person gets.
You fill it in on the day of the session, before everyone heads home. It isn't a publishing contract, and you don't file it as is with a collecting society: it sets out the agreement between co-writers, which you then copy over when registering the song with your PRO (PRS for Music, ASCAP, BMI…).
What goes on a split sheet
- The song: its title, even a working title, and ideally its length and genre.
- The session: the date and place (studio, city), which pin down when the song was created.
- The participants: each person's first and last name, email and, if possible, artist name and collecting society (PRS, ASCAP, SACEM, GEMA…).
- The roles: lyricist (words), composer (music), beatmaker, arranger, musician, singer. One person can hold several roles.
- The shares: each participant's percentage of the songwriting rights, adding up to 100%. A musician with no share can be listed at 0%.
- The signatures: every participant's signature, dated. Without everyone's signature, the document only proves an opinion, not an agreement.
Why sign it on the day of the session
Everyone remembers. On the day, everyone knows who came up with the chorus melody or wrote the second verse. Six months later, when the song comes out or starts earning, memories drift apart, and everyone is acting in good faith.
Registering the song becomes a formality. To register a song, collecting societies ask for each rights holder's share and, with some of them, every writer has to sign off. With a signed split sheet there's nothing left to negotiate: you just copy it over when registering the song with your PRO (PRS for Music, ASCAP, BMI…).
Your royalties don't get stuck. A song registered with disputed shares, or never registered at all because nobody can agree, earns nothing for anyone for as long as the dispute lasts.
Split sheet, song registration, publishing deal: what's the difference?
Three documents that often get mixed up. They work together: the split sheet comes first and feeds into the other two.
| Split sheet | Song registration | Publishing contract | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | The agreement between co-writers on roles and shares | Registering the song with your PRO (PRS for Music, ASCAP, BMI…) | An author assigning rights to a publisher, in return for exploitation and payment |
| When | On the day of the session | Before release or first broadcast | When a publisher commits to the song |
| Who signs | All participants | All the song's rights holders | The author and the publisher |
| Where it goes | To every participant (Memo Deal sends the PDF to everyone) | To the collecting society (PRS, ASCAP, SACEM, GEMA…) | To the parties, then to the society for the publisher's share |
| What it proves | Who did what and the agreed split | The shares the society will use to pay out royalties | The rights assigned and the author's payment |
What collecting societies say, country by country
No society requires a split sheet, but they all need each rights holder's share to pay out royalties. Here are their rules, with the official source.
France (SACEM)
Works are registered online in the member area or with the paper registration form, which must be signed by all rights holders. Failing any other option, SACEM splits public performance royalties into three thirds (authors, composers, publishers), shared equally between co-writers in the same category; mechanical royalties follow the split you agreed, which must add up to exactly 100%. The law adds that co-authors of a joint work exercise their rights by mutual agreement (Intellectual Property Code, art. L113-3).
Germany (GEMA)
Works are registered online on the GEMA portal; if no shares are entered, they are split equally between roles. For performance and broadcasting rights, the music/lyrics split is free within certain limits; by default it's 64% for the music and 36% for the lyrics. Mechanical rights are always split 50/50. German law divides income according to the size of each person's contribution, not equally (UrhG § 8). GEMA publishes its own split sheet template, to fill in at the studio, which you don't send to GEMA.
Source: GEMA, Split Sheet
Spain (SGAE)
All rights holders must sign the work registration: when one of them files it, SGAE sends it to the others to accept and sign online. Unless agreed otherwise, SGAE splits 50% for the music and 50% for the lyrics, shared equally between co-writers of the same part (General Regulations, art. 53 and 54).
Italy (SIAE)
The registration is filled in and sent online (SIAE+ app or portal), with the signature of every rights holder who is a SIAE member; filing is free. Since January 2026, shares are entered as percentages. The law presumes co-authors' shares to be equal, unless there is written proof of a different agreement (Law 633/1941, art. 10): which is exactly what a signed split sheet provides.
Source: SIAE, Tutela opere musicali
Netherlands (Buma/Stemra)
Works are registered online on MijnBumaStemra; a co-writer who is a member must approve the registration. Buma applies a fixed key (composer 50%, lyricist 50% for an unpublished work; a third each with a publisher), shared equally within each role, even if you agreed otherwise. Exception: for a Dutch work, a different key is possible if all authors approve it in the registration.
Portugal (SPA) and Brazil (ECAD)
In Portugal, works are registered with a form or on the SPA members' portal, and the registration must bear the signature of all authors. The law presumes equal shares, unless there is a different agreement, which must always be in writing (Copyright Code, art. 17). In Brazil, the work is registered with an association (UBC, ABRAMUS…), which files it with ECAD along with each author's percentage.
Source: SPA, Declarar obras
United Kingdom (PRS for Music)
When one co-writer registers the work, each of the others has to authorise their share to get paid correctly. UK law defines a work of joint authorship but sets no default split (CDPA 1988, s. 10): without a written agreement, the split is up for debate, which is why a split sheet matters.
United States (ASCAP, BMI)
The authors of a joint work are co-owners of the copyright (17 U.S.C. § 201(a)). At both ASCAP and BMI, the writer's share and the publisher's share are registered separately, and the split between co-writers is entirely up to you: the PROs encourage you to put it in writing before registering.
Source: 17 U.S.C. § 201
Russia (RAO)
A co-written work can be registered with RAO at the request of just one of the rights holders, with or without a copy of their agreement. Unless agreed otherwise, income is split equally between co-authors (Civil Code, art. 1258 and 1229). A simple electronic signature only counts as a handwritten one if the parties have agreed so (Law 63-FZ, art. 6).
Source: Russian Civil Code, art. 1229
How to split the shares
There's no universally right split: it's an agreement between you. Three methods come up most often in the studio.
Equal shares. Every creator in the room gets the same share, whatever they contributed. It's simple, it avoids arguments, and it's the rule many bands and writing sessions go by.
Based on contribution. You estimate what each person brought: the chorus, the beat, a verse. Fairer on paper, but harder to settle, which is all the more reason to do it on the day.
Lyrics on one side, music on the other. First you split between lyrics and music (often 50/50), then between the lyricists on one side and the composers on the other. That's how collecting societies think, since they distinguish lyricists from composers: SGAE splits 50/50 between music and lyrics by default, GEMA 64/36 for performance rights.
Make your split sheet with Memo Deal
Memo Deal makes the split sheet for you, from your phone: the title, the participants, their roles and their shares, then everyone signs on the spot or with a link sent by email. The document is dated and timestamped, and the signed PDF lands in everyone's inbox. Your co-writers don't need an account.
Make my split sheet for free3 free Memo Deals a month, no credit card.
Split sheet FAQ
Is a split sheet legally binding?
Yes, like any signed document: it proves the signatories agreed on the roles and shares, and in several countries (Italy, Portugal) the law specifically requires something in writing to depart from an equal split. Signed electronically, it can't be rejected as evidence solely because it's electronic (EU eIDAS Regulation, article 25); in France, an electronic document carries the same evidential weight as paper if its author is identified and its integrity guaranteed (Civil Code, article 1366). It doesn't replace registering the song with the collecting society, which is the only thing that triggers royalty payments.
What happens without a split sheet?
Nothing gets stuck as long as everyone agrees. If there's a dispute, it's one person's word against another's, and the song's registration stays on hold: registering the song with your PRO (PRS for Music, ASCAP, BMI…) means every writer confirming their share, and some societies require everyone's signature. Without an agreement, the default rule applies, and it varies by country: equal shares in Italy or Russia, according to each person's contribution in Germany.
Should the beatmaker be on the split sheet?
Yes, if they created all or part of the music: they're then a composer in copyright terms, and entitled to a share. Their rights in the recording (the master), if they produced it, are a separate matter, covered by a production agreement.
Can you change a split sheet after it's signed?
Yes, if all the signatories agree: you sign a new version. With Memo Deal, until everyone has signed, a correction cancels the signatures already made and everyone re-signs the corrected version.
Is there a free split sheet template?
Yes: GEMA publishes one, and many distributors offer a PDF to print out. The easiest option is still to do it online: with Memo Deal, your first 3 each month are free, signed by everyone and sent to each person as a PDF.
Tarik Hamiche
Gold- and platinum-certified producer and founder of Muzisecur, which handles SACEM registrations, distribution and contracts for independent artists and labels. He created Memo Deal after seeing too many creators lose their rights for want of a paper signed on the day of the session.
This guide provides general information, not legal advice. Collecting society rules change: follow the link to each source for the current version.