How are disputes between co-writers and collaborators over splits resolved?

Disputes over songwriting splits — the percentage each contributor owns of a co-written work — are common, especially when the split was never documented in writing at the time of creation. Years later, when a song earns significant royalties, collaborators may remember their contributions very differently. Because these disputes are relationship-driven and the underlying facts are often undocumented, they are well suited to mediation, where the parties can reach a practical allocation without the cost of litigation and the risk that a court imposes an all-or-nothing outcome.Mediation keeps that decision in the collaborators' hands rather than handing it to a court, which is part of why it tends to produce splits people actually accept. It also helps to preserve the possibility of future collaboration, which a lawsuit rarely does.