International Standard Musical Work Code
International Standard Musical Work Code (ISWC) is a
Format
Each code is composed of three parts:[1]
- prefix element (1 character)
- work identifier (9 digits)
- 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.
Computation of the check digit
With
- : one of the nine digits of the work identifier (i=1 to 9) from left to right.
- : check digit.
Example: T-034.524.680-C
0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 0 | |
0 | 6 | 12 | 20 | 10 | 24 | 42 | 64 | 0 |
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.[2]
Usage
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.
Its primary purpose is in
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.[3]
See also
- International Standard Music Number
- Global Release Identifier
- International Standard University Code, higher educational institution verification
References
- ISBN 978-3-598-24286-1.
The third element of the ISWC is the check digit. This is calculated using a MOD 10 algorithm.
- ^ "ISWC: Portal".
- ^ http://www.collectionscanada.ca/iso/tc46sc9/docs/sc9n298.pdf [bare URL PDF]
External links
- 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.