For Songwriters
Listing a Co-Written Song: Splits, Permissions and Getting Everyone Paid
By the Starchild Music team · October 10, 2026 · 7 min read
The short answer
Before listing a co-written song, put the splits in writing, get every co-writer's agreement on which licenses you will offer, and agree how and when you will pay them their shares. Under US law a co-owner can usually grant non-exclusive licenses alone but must pay co-owners their share, and cannot grant an exclusive license to the whole song without them, so asking everyone first is both fair and practical.
Co-writing is how a lot of good songs get made. It also means the song has more than one owner, and that every licensing decision affects people besides you.
Handled well, listing a co-write is simple. Handled loosely, it is one of the most common ways friendships and royalties both go wrong. Here is the process that keeps everyone whole.
Who owns a co-written song
In the US, a song written by people who intended to merge their contributions into one whole is a 'joint work.' The US Copyright Office, in a 2016 letter responding to a member of Congress, summarized the default rules. Without an agreement saying otherwise, joint authors 'share equal and undivided ownership.' Three co-writers each hold an undivided one-third interest in the whole song.
The same letter explains that each co-owner may grant a non-exclusive license to the entire work without the others' consent, 'provided that the licensor accounts for and pays over to his or her co-owners their pro-rata shares of the proceeds.' A co-owner cannot, however, transfer the entire copyright or grant an exclusive license of the whole work without the others.
Your written agreement can change those defaults, and many do. Laws also differ by country. If anything about ownership is unclear or disputed, talk to a music attorney before listing.
Why you should ask everyone anyway
Even where the law lets one co-writer license alone, the same Copyright Office letter notes that industry custom is for each co-writer to license only their own share. Buyers and platforms want clean, uncontested rights, and a co-writer who learns about a listing after the fact is a dispute waiting to happen.
Some licenses also clearly need everyone. An exclusive license takes the whole song off the market for a period. On Starchild, exclusives run for 3, 6 or 12 months and the song returns afterwards, but that is still a decision all owners should agree to.
Step 1: put the splits in writing
ASCAP's advice to co-writers is to agree on splits 'at the point of creation', ideally in writing, so they 'add up to exactly 100%', then share PRO information with each other and register the work accurately. Songtrust recommends signing a split sheet 'once everyone agrees a song is finished.' A useful split sheet records:
- The song title and the date it was written
- Any samples or existing material used
- Each writer's legal name and professional name
- Each writer's PRO, IPI number, and publisher or administrator
- Each writer's percentage, adding up to 100%
- Everyone's signature
Step 2: agree what you will offer, and who manages it
Without a split sheet, Songtrust warns, your PRO or publisher 'cannot confirm your ownership percentage in the event of a conflict.' The same thinking applies to licensing choices. Before listing, walk your co-writers through each decision. On Starchild that list looks like this:
- That the song will be listed for licensing, where buyers pay $30, $40, $50 or $60 for base licenses.
- Whether to offer the optional $99 Royalty Free add-on.
- Whether to offer a stems package, and at which price: $295, $495, $695 or $895.
- That the song may be licensed exclusively for 3, 6 or 12 months.
- That Starchild will produce the song in multiple styles around the original vocal.
- Which AI-transparency label applies: human-made, hybrid or AI-generated.
- Who manages the listing and answers buyer questions.
Step 3: agree how money flows
Co-writers can agree that one person handles licensing for everyone. The Copyright Office letter describes a real agreement in which two co-writers held the 'exclusive ... right in perpetuity' to 'issue and approve licenses' for a song, with the third co-writer giving up that role. Naming one manager in writing keeps decisions quick and clear.
On Starchild, partners keep their copyright and earn 50% of license revenue, minus payment processing fees, paid out through Stripe and withdrawable once the balance reaches $50. If your co-writers are not on the listing account, decide in writing how you will pass their shares on: what percentage, how often, and what statement you will send with each payment.
Keeping a simple ledger of each sale and each payment you make protects everyone. It is also how you meet the legal duty to account to co-owners described above.
Step 4: register with your PROs, and handle the hard cases
Licensing income from a marketplace is one stream. When artists release recordings of your song, performance and mechanical royalties follow, and those depend on registration. ASCAP notes that if a co-writer belongs to a different PRO, you still need to register the work with your own PRO before it can track it and pay you. The MLC, which handles US streaming mechanicals, says that each co-writer who has the right to register their own share 'should register their share of the work.' Use the same title, writers and splits on every registration.
Changing shares later is harder. ASCAP says that when a change would remove another writer or reduce their share, it 'may require signed correspondence from that party confirming the change.' Another reason to get it right the first time.
If a co-writer has disappeared or will not respond, wait before listing. Licensing a song whose ownership is uncertain can create a problem for you and the buyer. Write down your attempts to reach them, and get legal advice on your options where you live.