What Is an ISWC?
The ISWC (International Standard Musical Work Code) is the globally unique identifier for a composition — the song as a work made of melody and lyrics, regardless of who records it and when. It is assigned when the work is registered with a collecting society, and it helps match royalties from around the world to the right work and its songwriters. Its counterpart for recordings is the ISRC.
ISWC vs. ISRC — what’s the difference?
The ISRC identifies a specific recording; the ISWC identifies the work behind it. That’s why a song has exactly one ISWC but can have many ISRCs: the original recording, an acoustic version, a remix, a live recording, a cover by another band. All of these recordings point to the same work. The ISRC drives the master-side accounting through your distributor; the ISWC drives the publishing side through collecting societies and publishers.
How an ISWC is structured
An ISWC always starts with the letter T, followed by nine digits and a check digit, for example T-123.456.789-0. The dots and hyphens are only there for readability. Unlike the ISRC, the ISWC contains no information about country, year or rights holder — the number is purely a key. Which songwriters, shares and publishers belong to that key is stored in the societies’ databases.
How do I get an ISWC?
You don’t apply for an ISWC on its own. It is created when you or your music publisher register the work with a collecting society — for example PRS for Music in the UK, ASCAP or BMI in the US, or GEMA in Germany. The society assigns the code through the international ISWC system. A music distributor can’t assign an ISWC because it doesn’t administer the composition; it only assigns ISRCs and UPCs for your recordings and releases.
Why the ISWC is worth money
Streaming services usually report usage at the recording level, meaning by ISRC. For the composition money to reach the right songwriter, someone has to link the recording to the work. If that link is missing, or titles and songwriter details don’t match, royalties stay unmatched. A registered work with an ISWC, identical titles and complete songwriter credits in the release makes this matching far more reliable — especially for usage abroad.
Checklist for songwriters
Register every released work with all co-writers and their shares. Use exactly the same title in the release as in the work registration. Enter every composer and lyricist in the release credits under their legal name — just as the stores require. And keep the shares on the composition side consistent with the royalty splits on the master side. With OGRECORDS™, you enter songwriter credits directly in the release wizard; the work registration itself goes through your collecting society.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an ISWC to release music?
No. To release music, the ISRC and UPC assigned by your distributor are enough. The ISWC becomes important as soon as you want to collect royalties for the composition as a songwriter.
Does a cover version get a new ISWC?
No. A cover is a new recording of the same work: it gets a new ISRC but keeps the original’s ISWC. An arrangement with new creative contributions, on the other hand, can be registered as a work of its own.
Where can I find a song’s ISWC?
In the collecting societies’ work databases and in the international ISWC network. As a member, you can see the codes of your own works in your society’s member portal.
Can a work have more than one ISWC?
It should have exactly one. Duplicate codes come from duplicate registrations, for example when two co-writers register the same work separately — such duplicates delay payouts and should be cleaned up.
What happens if my work doesn’t have an ISWC?
Then it usually hasn’t been registered. Uses of your recording can still be accounted for via the ISRC, but the composition royalties can’t be matched to a songwriter and sit unclaimed until the work is registered — and depending on the society, they can only be claimed retroactively for a limited period.
Get your next release right.
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