Recipe: make a split sheet after a co-write in 10 minutes

What you get: a signed split sheet for the song you just wrote, before anyone leaves the room. Total: INR 0 (USD 0) and about 10 minutes. New to the idea? Start with what a split sheet is.

When to do it: Songtrust says to "fill out and sign a split sheet once everyone agrees a song is finished" (source). Our view: the end of the session is the moment. Memory and goodwill both fade by next week.

The recipe

Step times are our estimates for a two- or three-writer session where nobody is arguing.

1. Open a free template (1 min, INR 0)

Songtrust offers a free split sheet template (source). A shared doc or a sheet of paper works too; what matters is the content and the signatures.

2. Write the song details (1 min, INR 0)

Put down the working title and the date, plus any songs that were sampled, which Songtrust lists as part of the sheet (source).

3. List every writer (3 min, INR 0)

For each creator, Songtrust says to record their legal name, collection society, and publisher or publishing administrator (source). Use legal names, not artist names. If someone does not know their society or publisher, write "none" or "unknown" and fix it later rather than leaving the line off.

4. Agree the percentages (3 min, INR 0)

Say the numbers out loud and write them next to each name. An even split is the fastest default; anything else is a conversation worth having now, while the song is fresh.

5. Check the total, then sign (1 min, INR 0)

Add the column. Songtrust warns that when claimed shares conflict, for example totalling more than 100%, "your royalties will be withheld until it's resolved" (source). Then everyone signs and dates it.

6. Send everyone a copy (1 min, INR 0)

Photograph or export it and drop it in the group chat. One copy in one inbox is a single point of failure.

What we think

The split sheet is the cheapest insurance in music: ten minutes and no money. The hard part is social, not paperwork, so make it a habit announced at the start of every session ("we'll do splits before we leave") and it stops feeling like distrust.