How are royalties split between contributors (bands, featured artists, writers/producers/mixers)?

Case Study - “Golden Lantern” (4-piece band + featured rapper)
  Band members (4 × 15%): Publishing 60% total, Master 70% pro rata. All contributed to melody and lyrics.
  Featured rapper: Publishing 25%, Master 15%. Wrote own verse, traded lower master share for promo.
  Producer: Publishing 10% of admin only (not ownership), Master 3 points. Producer points are % of recording revenue after recoup.
  Mix engineer: Publishing —, Master flat fee + 0.5%.
  Mastering engineer: Publishing —, Master flat fee.
  Label (if any): Publishing —, Master 11.5% after recoup for marketing and distribution.
  Totals: Publishing 100%, Master 100%. Double-check both columns add up to 100%.

Publishing (songwriting) royalty splits
  Performance, radio, live, interactive streams → paid by PROs (ASCAP, BMI, PRS, etc.). Split strictly by the writer/composer percentages registered for each song.
  Mechanical, streams, downloads, CDs, vinyl → paid by the MLC in the US or by your publisher/admin. Same composition split; publishers collect, then pass on.
  Sync, film, TV, games → paid by the licensee to writers/publisher. Usually pro rata to ownership unless one writer controls 100%.
  Key rule: a producer, mixer, or featured artist only receives publishing if they actually wrote melody, lyrics, or the core hook. Otherwise they negotiate on the master side.

Master (sound recording) royalty splits
  DSP royalties, Spotify and Apple → distributor pays label or rights owner, then divide by agreed master splits.
  SoundExchange (US non-interactive) → 50% featured artists, 45% sound-recording owner, 5% AFM/AFTRA side-player funds.
  Sync master fee → commonly 50% label or owner, 50% performers, or as negotiated.
  Producer points → typically 1–5% of the label or owner share, paid after recoup.
  Mix engineer points → 0.5–1%, negotiated case by case.
  Pro tip: points accrue only after recoup of clearly defined recording costs.

Featured artists vs. side performers
  Featured artist: Publishing only if they wrote. Master share yes, often 10–20%. Registration: add as featured artist in your distributor and in SoundExchange.
  Session musician: No publishing. Paid flat fee plus AFM/AFTRA fund where applicable. Registration: union forms as needed.
  Remixer: Publishing maybe if it is a new composition. Master share yes, on the new master. Registration: new ISRC and ISWC for the remix.

Five-step checklist before release day
  Agree splits in writing on a split sheet with signatures and dates.
  Enter exact percentages in your PRO (writers), your publisher or admin, and your distributor (masters).
  Register each contributor at SoundExchange with artist and rights-owner accounts.
  Send a points memo to producer and mixer so statements match.
  Store all documents in a shared drive; most disputes come from missing paperwork.

Common pitfalls
  “We will figure it out later.” PROs lock splits immediately and late changes are messy.
  Assuming producer points equal songwriting share. They are different.
  Registering co-writers at different PROs with mismatched percentages.
  Using multiple distributors for the same ISRC, which triggers takedowns and lost data.
  Forgetting to list featured artists at SoundExchange, which loses 25% of US non-interactive money.

Key takeaways
  Two buckets: publishing equals composition, master equals recording. Split independently.
  Everything must add to 100%. Double-check each column before registering.
  Producer and mixer earnings live on the master side unless they wrote music or lyrics.
  Write it down first, register it once, audit quarterly. Clean metadata prevents lost royalties and friend breakups.