The Split-Income Performance Architecture

The Strict 50/50 Royalty Split

By strict industry custom and Performing Rights Organization (PRO) rules, public performance royalties are always divided into two equal parts:

1. The Writer's Share (50%): This portion belongs entirely and directly to the individual songwriter. Under standard PRO guidelines and public policy, the Writer's Share is completely unassignable to a music publisher. Even under co-publishing or major publishing agreements, PROs will bypass the publisher and pay this 50% directly to the songwriter's personal bank account. This protects creators from having their basic performance income completely swept by publishers.

2. The Publisher's Share (50%): This portion belongs to the publisher or administrator administering the composition's copyrights. This share can be assigned, split (e.g., in co-publishing deals), or sold.

The Self-Publishing Loophole Independent, self-published songwriters can capture 100% of their public performance royalties by acting as both the writer and the publisher. However, ASCAP and BMI handle this registration process very differently: - BMI: Does *not* require writers to establish a separate publishing entity to claim the publisher's share. If no publisher is registered, BMI passes the publisher's 50% directly through to the writer's account. - ASCAP: Enforces strict separation. ASCAP will only pay the writer 50%. To collect the remaining 50% publisher's share, a writer must register an ASCAP publishing entity (costing a $50 registration fee). If they fail to do so, the publisher's share remains uncollected and eventually lapses into the general pool.