International Standard Musical Work Code

Each code is composed of three parts:[1]

1. prefix element (1 character)
2. work identifier (9 digits)
3. check digit (1 digit)

Currently, the only prefix defined is "T", indicating Musical works. However, additional prefixes may be defined in the future to expand the available range of identifiers and/or expand the system to additional types of works.

Example: T-034.524.680-C

${\displaystyle d_{i}}$	0	3	4	5	2	4	6	8	0
${\displaystyle id_{i}}$	0	6	12	20	10	24	42	64	0

${\displaystyle S=179}$

${\displaystyle C=1}$

ISWC identifiers are commonly written the form T-123.456.789-C. The grouping is for ease of reading only; the numbers do not incorporate any information about the work's region, author, publisher, etc. Rather, they are simply issued in sequence. These separators are not required, and no other separators are allowed.

The first ISWC was assigned in 1995, for the song "Dancing Queen" by ABBA; the code is T-000.000.001-0.

To register an ISWC, the following minimal information must be supplied:

• title
• names of all composers, arrangers and authors, with their role in the piece (identified by role code) and their CAE/IPI number
• work classification code (CIS)
• identification of other works it is a derivative of

Note: an ISWC identifies works, not recordings. ISRC can be used to identify recordings. Nor does it identify individual publications (e.g. issues of a recording on physical media, sheet music, broadcast at a particular frequency/modulation/time/location...)

Its primary purpose is in collecting society administration, and to clearly identify works in legal contracts. It would also be useful in library cataloguing.

Due to the fact that a musical work can have multiple authors, it is inevitable that, on rare occasions, a duplicate ISWC might exist and might not be detected immediately. Because of the existing business practices among collecting societies, it is not possible to simply declare an ISWC as obsolete. In such cases, as soon as they are identified, the system will deal with duplicate registrations by linking such registration records in the ISWC database and its related products.[2]

The ABBA song Dancing Queen has the first and lowest International Standard Musical Work Code (ISWC), T-000.000.001-0[3]

• International Standard Music Number
• Global Release Identifier
• International Standard University Code, higher educational institution verification

• New ISO standard for worldwide identification of musical works/key

• The registration authority
• TC 46 SC 9 website
• http://www.iswc.org/en/agencies.html
• look up at iswcnet.cisac.org
• The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) has overhauled the ISWC global-identification system for the first time since 2005, and more than 100 societies are onboard with the changes.