How do I enter songwriter splits and publisher information for a release?

When submitting original compositions through CD Baby, you’ll need to enter songwriter splits and publisher information for each track. This ensures accurate registration with Performance Rights Organizations (PROs) and royalty collection. This article walks you through how to enter contributions, ownership percentages, and publisher details for both collecting and non-collecting songwriters.

Getting Started

• If you received an error when entering a publisher name, skip ahead to the “Do the Songwriters Have a Publisher?” section.
• If your release is Standard, refer to the Non-Collecting Songwriters section below.
• If your release has already been distributed, you won’t be able to make changes to songwriter or publisher info.

For Legacy CD Baby Pro Publishing releases:

• Read this Help Center article
• Add songwriters to the first track.
• Then return to this article for help entering splits and publisher info.

Entering Songwriter Contributions and Splits

For each track, you’ll need to enter:

Songwriter Contributions: Select whether each songwriter contributed Music, Lyrics, or Both.

• Music includes melody, chord progressions, arrangements, etc.
• Lyrics refers to the actual words of the song.
• If a songwriter contributed to both, check both boxes.

Songwriter Splits:

Splits must total 100% across all songwriters.

• One songwriter = 100%
• Multiple songwriters = each must have a defined percentage that adds up to 100%

It’s essential to agree on splits with co-writers before submission. We recommend using a split sheet to document this agreement.

Do the songwriters have a publisher? 

This section determines how publishing rights are assigned for each type of songwriter.

Collecting Songwriters

• Choose “Yes” if the songwriter has a self-owned publishing entity registered with their PRO.
  • Enter the publisher name exactly as it appears with their PRO.
• Choose “No” if they do not have a publishing entity.
  • CD Baby Publishing will be listed as the default publisher.

Non-Collecting Songwriters

• Choose “Yes” if:
  • They have a self-owned publishing entity with their PRO, or
  • Their share is claimed by another publisher or publishing administrator.
  • Enter the publisher name exactly as it appears with their PRO.
• Choose “No” if neither applies.
  • The publisher field will default to the songwriter’s name.

⚠️ If your works are already registered with a PRO, make sure the splits and publisher info match exactly. Mismatches can lead to conflicts or rejections, delaying royalty payments.

⚠️ If your works were registered incorrectly with your PRO before signing up for CD Baby Pro Publishing, CD Baby cannot fix those registrations. You’ll need to contact your PRO directly to correct them.

Things to note

• If the songwriter and publisher info is the same for all tracks, you can click 'Apply this information to all tracks' then click 'Save and Continue'. This will overwrite any existing info on other tracks.