What is an ISWC? Why does my work not have an ISWC?

The ISWC is an internationally recognised work number and therefore a unique identifier for a work version. It makes the documentation exchange and distribution traffic between collective management organisations more efficient. The ISWC has been developed by the Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d’Auteurs et Compositeurs (CISAC) which also manages and develops the ISWC.

ISWCs are only issued if all the contributors to a work have been identified in the IPI database, that is the international database of creators and publishers. If one of the contributors is not a member of a collective management organisation, the work will not be issued with an ISWC initially.

You can view the ISWC of your work on the work confirmation, in our Online Portal or in the repertoire search.