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Free ISRC ⇄ ISWC tool

ISRC to ISWC,
both directions

Have a recording's ISRC and need the composition code behind it? Have an ISWC and want every recording of that song? Convert between them below — free, no account, no jargon.

ISRC → ISWC

Paste a recording's ISRC (or a SonoVault track ID) to find the ISWC work code(s) for the composition behind it.

ISWC → recordings & ISRCs

Enter an ISWC to list every recording of that composition — each one with its own ISRC.

A crosswalk backed by The MLC across a 90M+ recording catalog. Where a recording has no ISWC on file yet, the tool will say so.

The basics

What connects an ISRC and an ISWC

An ISRC identifies one recording; an ISWC identifies the composition that recording is a version of. Converting between them is crossing between those two layers.

Every recording sits on top of a written song. The original studio cut, a live take, a cover, and a remix are all separate recordings — separate ISRCs — but they share one underlying work, and therefore one ISWC. That is why the crosswalk is one-to-many: a single ISWC fans out to every recording of the song, while a single recording usually points back to one work (and occasionally several, when it samples or medleys more than one).

The mapping is not guaranteed complete. The ISRC ↔ ISWC links come from The MLC and cover a large share of the catalog, but not every recording is mapped to a work yet, and aggregated data can be wrong or incomplete. Use the result as a fast reference and verify before any filing, licensing, or financial use — SonoVault is not affiliated with The MLC or any society.

Step by step

How the converter works

Streaming apps don't show either code to listeners, so a metadata database like this is the simplest way to move between a recording and the work behind it. Pick the direction that matches what you already have.

  1. 1

    Pick a direction

    Decide whether you are starting from a recording (an ISRC) or a composition (an ISWC), and use the matching box above.

  2. 2

    Paste the code

    Enter the ISRC (or a SonoVault track ID) on the left, or the ISWC on the right. Dashes and other separators are fine — they are ignored.

  3. 3

    Read the crosswalk

    ISRC → ISWC returns the work code(s) and title behind that recording. ISWC → recordings returns every recording of the work, each with its own ISRC.

Why it matters

Why convert between recording and composition codes

Recordings and works are administered by different parts of the industry, so a lot of everyday music-rights work is really about bridging the two.

Publishing & mechanical admin

Match recordings to the works behind them so mechanical royalties route to the right composition — the core of unmatched-recording cleanup.

Sync & licensing research

Start from a work's ISWC and pull every recording of it, so you can find the exact master you want to clear or license.

Catalog QC & reconciliation

Cross-check that a recording's ISRC lines up with the expected composition, and spot recordings that carry no work code yet.

The two codes

ISRC and ISWC at a glance

New to either code? Each has its own plain-English guide and free lookup tool.

ISRC
International Standard Recording Code
One sound recording — a single track.
ExampleGB-DUW-00-00059
ISWC
International Standard Musical Work Code
The written song itself — the composition.
ExampleT-070142799-7

Want to check an ISRC's format first? Use the free ISRC validator.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) identifies one sound recording — a single track, such as the studio version of a song. An ISWC (International Standard Musical Work Code) identifies the composition itself — the written song, no matter who records it. The two are different layers of the same music: the recording sits on top of the work. Converting between them means crossing from a specific recording to the underlying song, or the other way around.
Yes — that is the ISRC → ISWC direction of this tool. Paste a recording's ISRC and, where the link exists in our data, you get back the ISWC work code(s) for the composition behind it, with the work title. The recording-to-work links come from The MLC, so coverage is broad but not total; when a recording has no ISWC on file yet, the tool tells you the track exists but no composition code is linked.
Yes. Most recordings map to a single work, but a recording that stitches together or samples more than one composition — a medley, a mashup, a track built on another song — can carry several ISWCs. The converter returns all of the ISWCs linked to that recording, not just the first.
Often a great many. A single composition is recorded, covered, remixed, and re-released countless times, and every one of those is a separate recording with its own ISRC — all sharing the one ISWC. The ISWC → recordings direction lists them most-popular-first and shows the total count even when the page is truncated.
The recording-to-work (ISRC ↔ ISWC) links are sourced from The MLC (the US Mechanical Licensing Collective). It is high-quality data, but no aggregated source is complete or guaranteed correct — some recordings are not yet mapped, and mappings can be wrong or incomplete. Treat the results as a fast reference, and verify against an authoritative source before any commercial, financial, or filing use. SonoVault is not affiliated with The MLC or any collecting society.
Converting a single ISRC or ISWC here is completely free — no account, no payment. To convert at scale, the same crosswalk is available through the SonoVault API (an ISRC → ISWC endpoint and an ISWC → recordings endpoint) behind one API key, with a free tier for low volumes.

Convert ISRC ⇄ ISWC in bulk?

The same crosswalk is one API call away — ISRC → ISWC, ISWC → recordings, plus ISRC lookup and cross-platform track IDs for 90M+ recordings, behind one API key.

ISWC lookup for developersView the API docs →