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A man sitting at a desk with a guitar and keyboard. A man sitting at a desk with a guitar and keyboard.

How songwriters and musical works are identified


2 min read


Why are industry identifiers important when registering musical works?

Identification is essential for accurate crediting and payments.

Here, when we talk about , we are only talking about identifiers in relation to and . and have their own set of identifiers, too.

How are songwriters and musical works identified? 

When identifying songwriters and musical works, there are two types of industry identifiers that are essential for managing in musical works and getting and paid when your musical works are used:

  • Identifiers for songwriters – the most important ones are and

  • Identifiers for musical works – the

These identifiers are the foundation on which manage and distribute , making sure the money they collect from users is distributed accurately and efficiently.

To learn more about all the important types of industry identifiers, visit the Getting Credited and Paid topic.

Why are industry identifiers important when registering musical works?

When you a musical work with a CMO, you must also provide all necessary information, including the exact title of the work, the correctly spelled full names, and IPI numbers of all songwriters and music publishers involved.

CMOs, music publishers, and other organizations around the world need this information to be able to effectively and efficiently credit, track, and pay you when your musical works are used. Many other companies, for example, , also rely on this information for accurate payments.

Find out more on the ISWC Network website.

Image credit: Nils Emil Nylander