The International Standard Work Code (ISWC) is a world-wide standard reference number for musical works, certified by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). Any work identified by an ISWC number can be called up online via the ISWC Net. Titles, composers and writers of musical works are now easy to find for the general public.
The ISWC was developed by CISAC, the umbrella federation of authors’ societies, and is comparable to the ISBN (International Standard Book Number). Each work is allocated a unique number which it keeps permanently, world-wide. The ISWC is designed to ensure that musical works can be unequivocally identified in data exchanges with users, members and sister societies.
New works registered with SUISA are all automatically allocated an ISWC which is communicated with the work registration confirmation. The ISWC is composed of the letter «T», followed by a nine-digit number and a one-digit check number at the end. The works registered with SUISA always start with the code number 050, for example T-050246800-1. Each version of a work, the original as well as any individual arrangements, has its own specific ISWC.
The ISWC network connects the databases of many societies and contains all works identified by an ISWC number. The ISWC Net does not contain any publishing indications. The works in SUISA’s repertoire appear under the heading «WID» (Work Information Database).
