Nobody gets into songwriting to fill in forms. But a song with messy credits can sit unregistered for years, and the conversation about who wrote what only gets harder the longer you wait.

This is a practical guide, not legal advice. Rules and customs differ by country, by performing rights organisation and by contract. When you need specifics, ask your PRO, your publisher or a music lawyer. What follows is the groundwork that makes those conversations short.

Talk about splits on the day

The best time to agree on splits is at the end of the session, while everyone remembers who was in the room and what they brought. A week later, memories drift. A year later, after the song has been cut, it can get tense.

It doesn't need to be a big moment. Before you leave, someone says, "So we're splitting this how?" and you agree. Then write it down and make sure everyone has a copy.

Common ways writers split a song

There's no single rule. A few approaches you'll run into:

Even split among everyone in the room. Three writers, three equal shares. A lot of writers default to this because it's simple and it keeps the focus on the song rather than on counting lines.
Split by contribution. Writers agree on shares based on what each person brought. This can feel fairer when one writer arrived with most of the song, but it takes more discussion.
Agreed in advance. Some writers settle the split before they start, especially when one person is bringing a finished track or an existing idea.

Whichever you choose, the important part is that everyone agrees, it's written down, and it adds up to 100%. Producers, artists and track makers who contribute to the writing raise their own questions, and those are worth settling up front too.

Writer share and publisher share

In many places, songwriting income is split into two sides: the writer's share and the publisher's share. If you have a publishing deal, your publisher typically collects the publisher's side for you, under the terms of your deal. If you don't, you may be able to collect it yourself through your PRO or through a publishing administrator.

How this works depends on where you live and who you're signed to, so this is a good place to check with your PRO or publisher. The point for now: when you register a song, your publisher information matters as much as your own.

PROs and IPI numbers, briefly

A PRO (performing rights organisation) collects royalties when songs are performed publicly: on the radio, on streaming services, in venues and so on. Examples include ASCAP, BMI and SESAC in the US, PRS in the UK, SOCAN in Canada and APRA AMCOS in Australia and New Zealand. Writers generally belong to one PRO at a time.

An IPI number (Interested Party Information) is an identifier for a songwriter or publisher, used by collecting societies around the world to make sure the right person gets paid. Your PRO assigns it when you join, and you'll usually find it in your member account. Publishers have their own IPI numbers too.

Names alone cause problems. There are a lot of writers with similar names, and plenty of people write under a different name from the one on their passport. An IPI number removes the guessing.

What a lyric sheet should include

A lyric sheet is the clean, final version of the words with the credits attached. It's what you send to an artist, a publisher, a label or a sync agent. It should make it easy for anyone to register, clear or pay for the song without coming back to you with questions.

Field	Why it matters
Song title	Exactly as it will be registered. Note any alternate titles.
The final lyric	The agreed version, with sections labelled. Not a draft with options still in it.
Each writer's legal name	The name your PRO has on file, not just the name you write under.
Each writer's PRO	So the right society can match the registration.
Writer IPI numbers	The surest way to identify each writer.
Publishers, with their IPI	Or a note that the writer is self-published.
A contact email	So anyone with a question knows who to ask.

Many writers keep the split percentages on a separate split sheet that every writer signs, and keep the lyric sheet for the words and the credits. That way you can send the lyric sheet around freely while the agreement stays between the writers.

A simple split sheet

A split sheet doesn't need to be fancy. Most have:

The song title and the date it was written.
Each writer's legal name, PRO, IPI number and publisher.
Each writer's percentage, adding up to 100%.
Every writer's signature.

Many PROs and publishers offer split sheet templates, and some prefer their own format. Ask yours.

Keep the lyric and the credits together

The most common problem isn't a dispute. It's that the final lyric lives in one place, the credits in another, and the IPI numbers in somebody's email from two years ago. When a request comes in, someone has to rebuild it all from memory.

Lyric Genie's lyric sheets are built for this. You fill in your writer profile once, with your legal name, PRO, IPI, publisher and contact email. When you make a lyric sheet from a song, it publishes the lyric as a clean page at its own link, with every writer's credits underneath. Co-writers' credits come from their own profiles, so nobody has to type anyone else's IPI.

A sheet is frozen at the moment you make it, so later edits to the song don't change what you've already sent. Anyone with the link can open it, but it isn't listed anywhere, and you can delete it to take the link down. On a co-written song, the sheet starts from the Master tab, the version everyone agreed on.

The short version

Agree on splits before you leave the session, and write them down.
Know your PRO and your IPI number, and ask your co-writers for theirs.
Keep a signed split sheet for the agreement, and a lyric sheet for the words and credits.
When in doubt, ask your PRO or publisher. That's what they're there for.

If you want the lyric and the credits in one place, see what's included in Lyric Genie's plans, or start free in the browser at app.lyricgenie.app.

Splitting Songwriting Credits (and What Your Lyric Sheet Should Include)