International Standard Musical Work Code - Format

Format

Each code is composed of three parts:

1. prefix element (1 character)
2. work identifier (9 digits)
3. check digit (1 digit)

Currently, the only prefix defined is "T", indicating Musical works. However, additional prefixes may be defined in the future to expand the available range of identifiers and/or expand the system to additional types of works.

ISWC identifiers are commonly written the form T-123.456.789-Z. The grouping is for ease of reading only; the numbers do not incorporate any information about the work's region, author, publisher, etc. Rather, they are simply issued in sequence. These separators are not required, and no other separators are allowed.

The first ISWC was assigned in 1995, for the song "Dancing Queen" by ABBA; the code is T-000.000.001-0.