Royalty Splits
Split earnings with collaborators in SpaceMedia, invite them, and understand how splits differ from writer credits.
A royalty split sends an agreed percentage of what a release earns to a collaborator.
Splits are not credits
This trips people up constantly:
| Purpose | Effect | |
|---|---|---|
| Royalty Splits | Divides money | Changes who gets paid |
| Writer and contributor credits | Records who did what | Changes metadata delivered to stores |
Crediting a producer does not pay them. Splitting with a producer does not credit them. If both should happen, do both. See Metadata and credits.
Setting one up
- Open Royalty Splits and start a split for the release or track.
- Add each collaborator with the email they will accept from.
- Set the percentages. Agree them with everyone before you enter them.
- Send the invitations and watch for acceptance.
A split takes effect on earnings going forward. It does not retroactively redistribute what has already been reported and paid, so set splits up before a release goes live rather than after the first statement.
Monitoring
Check the state of each invitation. A collaborator who has not accepted is not yet part of the agreement, and an unaccepted invitation is the usual reason someone says they were never paid.
Common questions
Can I change a split after it is accepted? Changes apply going forward, not to earnings already allocated. Treat it as a new agreement rather than a correction.
What if a collaborator never accepts? The split does not take effect for them. Chase the invitation rather than assuming it is active.
Do splits cover publishing? No. A royalty split divides what the release earns through SpaceMedia. Publishing and neighboring rights are collected separately and are not affected.
Do the percentages have to total 100? Agree the full allocation explicitly with everyone involved and enter what you agreed. Ambiguity here becomes a dispute later.