Sonar

Producer toolkit

The paperwork that decides whether you get paid

Most producers lose money to missing documents, not bad deals. Here is what each core document is for, when it has to exist, and the fields that cause disputes when they are left out.

The five documents

Split sheet

Every session where anyone contributes to the composition.

  • Song title and date of the session
  • Every contributor's legal name, not just their artist name
  • Each contributor's role (writer, producer, topliner) and percentage — totalling exactly 100
  • PRO affiliation and IPI/CAE number per writer
  • Publisher name per writer, or 'unpublished'
  • Signatures from everyone in the room, on the day

Producer agreement

Before delivering stems or masters to an artist or label.

  • Scope: how many tracks, how many revision passes, what counts as delivery
  • Fee, deposit and payment schedule tied to milestones
  • Producer points if any, and the basis they are calculated on
  • Credit wording exactly as it should appear on the release
  • Ownership of the master and of any stems, samples and session files
  • What happens if the track is shelved or re-recorded

Work-for-hire agreement

Commissioned work where the client expects to own the output outright.

  • Explicit assignment of the master, and explicit treatment of the composition
  • Whether you retain any writing share — silence usually means you do not
  • Credit obligations, since ownership and credit are separate things
  • Warranty that your contribution is original and sample-cleared
  • Kill fee if the project is cancelled after work has started

Sync licence basics

Any placement in film, TV, advertising or games.

  • Two clearances are always required: the master and the composition
  • Territory, term, media and exclusivity — these drive the fee more than anything else
  • Most-favoured-nations clauses, which tie your fee to the other side's
  • Whether the licence covers re-cuts, trailers and social edits
  • Who registers the cue sheet, since that is how the back end actually pays

Invoice

Immediately on delivery, not at the end of the month.

  • Unique sequential invoice number
  • Your legal or trading name, address and tax identifier
  • The client's legal entity name, exactly as registered
  • Line items matching the agreement's language
  • Payment terms in days and a stated due date
  • Bank details including IBAN/SWIFT for cross-border work

Three habits that prevent most disputes

  • Same day, every time. Splits and deliverables get documented on the day of the session. Memory is not a contract.
  • Legal names and entities. Artist names do not appear on bank transfers or in courts. Collect legal names, entity names and tax identifiers up front.
  • Deliver against a definition. Write down what “done” means — file format, stem count, revision passes included — before you start, or revisions become unpaid work.
This page is practical guidance, not legal advice. Contract law and copyright treatment differ by territory; have a music lawyer review any agreement before you sign it.

Common questions

When should a split sheet be signed?
In the room, on the day, before anyone leaves. A split sheet signed months later during a sync negotiation is a negotiation, not a record. Photograph it and email a copy to everyone present the same day.
What is the difference between producer points and a flat fee?
A flat fee pays for the work once. Points are a percentage of artist royalties — commonly 3 to 5 percent of the retail or net receipts basis — paid on an ongoing basis, usually recoupable against the advance. Many deals combine a smaller fee with points.
Does work-for-hire mean I lose my writing credit?
It can. Work-for-hire typically assigns the copyright in the master, and sometimes in the composition, to the commissioning party. Producing is not automatically writing — if you contributed melody, lyrics or chords, capture that separately on the split sheet before signing anything.
Why do my invoices get paid late?
Usually because they are missing something the payer's finance system needs: a unique invoice number, a clear payment term, a purchase-order or project reference, and exact bank details. Ambiguity is what sends an invoice to the bottom of the pile.

Next

See the producer toolkit in SonarRead the scoring guides