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

The ISWC is an internationally recognised work number and unique identifiers for a work version (analogous to the ISBN). The ISWC makes the documentation and distribution exchange between collective management organisations more efficient. The ISWC has been developed by the Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d’Auteurs et Compositeurs (CISAC). CISAC also manages and develops the ISWC. The first ISWC was issued to the song Dancing Queen of ABBA (T-000000001-0) in 1995.

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.