Registering Your Splits with COSON / MCSN

This article is general information, not legal advice, and is not a step-by-step registration guide. Requirements, forms, and fees change over time — always confirm current details directly with COSON or MCSN before registering.

In Nigeria, the two most commonly referenced music collecting societies are the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) and the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN). Collecting societies (sometimes called Performing Rights Organizations, or PROs) are the bodies that track how songs are used — on radio, streaming, television, and public performance — and distribute royalties back to the registered songwriters and publishers behind them.

Registering your compositions with a collecting society is generally what makes it possible for royalties to actually reach you when your music is played or performed. Without registration, a collecting society has no record of who to pay, even if your song is generating measurable usage.

A clear, signed split sheet is typically foundational to this process — collecting societies need to know not just that a song exists, but who wrote it and in what proportion, so royalties can be divided correctly among collaborators. Having that agreement documented and signed before you register avoids a common problem: trying to reconstruct who agreed to what, months or years after a session, once a song has started earning.

Because registration requirements, forms, and membership terms can change and can differ between COSON and MCSN, the most reliable next step is to reach out to whichever society is relevant to you directly for their current registration process — treat this article as background for that conversation, not a substitute for it.