Music collaboration agreements — the contract every co-write and production session needs

Collaborative tracks that skip written splits often end in a fight about who owns what. Five minutes of documentation beats months of dispute.

Publishing vs mechanical splits

Publishing covers the composition (melody, lyrics, harmony) and PRO royalties. Mechanical covers the specific recording and master-side income. A producer might hold mechanical interest without publishing, or the reverse — state both sets of percentages clearly.

What the agreement must contain

• Track identification — title, ISRC if available, or an unambiguous description
• Legal names, contact details, PRO and IPI for each collaborator
• Roles — songwriter, producer, featured artist, etc.
• Publishing splits totalling 100% and mechanical splits totalling 100%
• Credit lines for releases
• Usage rights or explicit 'no restrictions'
• Date and signatures

When to have the conversation

Before release — ideally during or right after the session. Once money or attention arrives, the same talk becomes adversarial and royalties may already be misallocated.

Vault + Contracts together

Vault split proposals capture agreed percentages with an all-must-accept workflow and audit trail. Linking a contract pulls that data into a formal signed agreement with PDF export tied to the project.