Artist guide
Split sheets
A split sheet is a short written record of who owns what in a song. At AIE we ask for one before a song comes out, because sorting ownership after money starts coming in is where friendships end.
Two kinds of ownership
Publishing is the songwriting: lyrics and melody. Master is the recording itself. They are separate, so a producer can own part of the master without writing a word, and a writer can own publishing without being on the recording.
List each person once with their role, their publishing share and their master share.
Each side must add up to 100%
Publishing shares must total exactly 100%, and master shares must total exactly 100%. AIE's split sheet tool won't let you download until both totals are right, and splits saved to an AIE account are checked again on our side, so a sheet at 50% or 120% can't be stored.
Add PRO details and sign
Add each writer's performing rights organization (PRO) if they have one. Then everyone signs and dates the sheet. The signature lines tell everyone the sheet is the agreed record. It is not a contract a lawyer wrote, so get legal advice for anything unusual.
Do it before release
Make the sheet the day the song is finished, while everyone remembers who did what. Keep a copy with your release files; you'll need the same names and shares when you set up distribution.
Do it now
The free AIE split sheet generator checks both totals and gives you a signable PDF. Signed in, you can save it to your account too.
Make a free split sheetGeneral information from how AIE Music works, not legal advice.
