Deliverables, Credits, Split Sheets and Professional Delivery.

A delivery is not just a well-mixed track: it is a well-mixed track presented so someone else can work with it without writing back to you. If the files arrive incomplete, with odd names and no record of who did what, the work starts badly even if the music is perfect.

This guide closes the cluster with the five missing pieces: deliverables, credits, split sheets, a portfolio and professional delivery to a label or client, plus how to present the work and follow up without becoming annoying.

Deliverables

Deliverables are the files accompanying the track. The minimum list, in a folder using the project’s naming convention:

• Final mix in uncompressed WAV, with the version and date in the name.
• Stems grouped and aligned, if requested (the stems guide explains how to prepare them).
• Project and MIDI when someone will edit, always with the material collected.
• Technical notes: tempo, key, sample rate, bit depth, plugin list and decisions the recipient needs to know.
• Artwork and materials: high-resolution cover, credits and a listening MP3 if the recipient requests it.

The packaging criterion is that the package explains itself. If you need a call to understand which file is which, the folder is not finished. Do not send too much, either: a label requesting a mix and stems does not need your entire project with the session’s voice notes.

It helps to choose a folder name that already contains the essentials: track title, version and date. When another delivery arrives three weeks later, the recipient can distinguish it without opening anything, and you can reconstruct what you sent and when without searching through email. The same naming logic you applied to project organisation applies here; Organising Projects: Naming, Folders, Versions and Templates follows that logic.

One final detail that seems minor but is not: check that no extra files have slipped in. System folders, temporary files, old versions and duplicates make the delivery look improvised and force the recipient to ask “is this the right one?”, which is exactly the question you wanted to avoid.

Credits

Credits answer who did what, and people often confuse three different things that should be separated:

• Authorship: who wrote the music and lyrics. This is what songwriting percentages divide.
• Production: who produced, arranged, programmed or recorded. This appears in the release credits.
• Performer: who performs, with their specific role in the track.

None of these can be deduced from the shared folder. If three people were in the session and nobody noted their roles, you will remember two later. Write credits while working, in the session note, and review them with each person before the track comes out.

A common mistake is giving credit for being present rather than contributing, or the reverse. The uncomfortable but correct solution is to ask “what percentage do you think you should receive?” and agree it together, rather than dividing blindly or giving one person 100% to avoid the conversation.

Split Sheets

Split sheets are the document that closes that conversation: one page with the track title, the writers and their percentages, signed by everyone. Their role is preventive: sign before release, when dividing is easy, to avoid disputes once there is income.

The contents of a complete split sheet:

• Track title and the people signing.
• Each writer’s percentage, adding up to 100%.
• Date and place.
• Each person’s signature.

Two practices avoid surprises: keep a signed copy of each version of the track (a remix or revision is documented separately), and compare that split with what is subsequently declared to the distributor or publisher. An unsigned split sheet is worth nothing, and neither is a signed one that nobody looks at again.

If the track will be distributed or registered, the split sheet percentages and those on the form must match: the copyright office and publishers work with declared percentages, rather than conversations.

Portfolio

Your portfolio is your case to a client or label, and it works through selection, rather than accumulation. Practical rules:

• A few tracks, the best ones. Five tracks that sound like you are worth more than thirty that sound like everything.
• Intentional order. Open with the most recent and representative work, close with the best known; anything you would not stand behind right now goes out.
• Context for each piece. Year, role (production, mixing, mastering), with whom and for which label or project.
• A format people can hear without friction: stable, private links, rather than mandatory downloads or expiring files.

Before sending it, check the link on a phone and from another account: if the recipient cannot open it on the first attempt, you have lost the attention you worked to gain. If your sound has changed, update the portfolio; an outdated portfolio is worse than a short one.

Think about the portfolio by recipient, too. A label wants to hear the style fitting its catalogue; a client wants to hear work similar to the commission; a collaborator wants to know your usual role in a session. Keep a stable core and change the order or selection, rather than the whole folder each time. Also save a copy of what you sent: the track list, link and date, in that day’s session note.

Professional Delivery to a Label or Client

Professional delivery to a label or client applies all of the above to a specific submission. Each organisation has its own requirements sheet, but the pattern repeats: the requested audio format, artwork at the correct resolution and colour, complete metadata and documentation accompanying the release.

Three elements make a difference to the first impression:

• Reference and version. A reference mix and the exact submitted version, with a name and date.
• Consistent metadata. Title, artists, credits, BMI/ISRC where applicable, and the same information everywhere; inconsistencies between the folder, form and platform cause splits or incomplete songs on platforms. Recording identification codes have their own structure and should be used from the start.
• Everything in one delivery. Links and files together, in the same email or folder, with the track identified. Sending the track today, artwork tomorrow and credits the day after turns your delivery into detective work.

If the submission is a demo, also check each label’s conditions before pressing anything: accepted style, submission method, response time and whether repeat senders are allowed. A submission that respects the label’s rules is already above average.

What the Recipient Checks

Before anyone listens to the music, someone opens the folder. What they usually check, in this order:

1. They can hear the mix without installing anything or requesting permissions.
2. They find the stems and notes where you said they would be.
3. The information matches: track name, version, tempo, key, credits and contact.
4. The folder is clean: no old versions, duplicate files or system temporary files.

If those four things pass, the recipient spends their time on the music, which is the aim. If they do not, your delivery competes with their patience.

How to Follow Up and Close

Follow-up is the part most often derailed by silence. Two reasonable timings: wait for the period stated in the label’s requirements or agreed with the client, and if there is no answer, send one polite reminder with the same link and information. After two unanswered attempts, move on to another destination and leave the door open.

When there is an answer, closing is mechanical: version the delivery, apply the requests, approve by identified version and save the approval. All the mechanics of revisions, deadlines and approvals are in Session Notes, Recall Sheets, Feedback and Approvals.

Two less visible closing tasks also matter: back up the approved version using the 3-2-1 rule, and save the final package exactly as sent. That package is your evidence of what was delivered, with which credits and which split, whenever someone asks.

Next Step

This completes the cluster’s cycle: organise, prepare the material, work with others, agree feedback and deliver. What lies outside these guides is contract territory: rights, income splits and release conditions, covered in Release Contracts with a Label and Production Workflow: Templates, Versioning and Bounce.