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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 sign-up, and further down: the full ISRC vs ISWC vs UPC comparison.

By Christiaan Maks, Founder & DeveloperUpdated

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 93M+ recording catalog. Free, no sign-up. Where a recording has no ISWC on file yet, the tool will say so.

Two layers

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. The two layers are also administered by different halves of the industry: labels and distributors mint ISRCs, while publishers and societies register works. That split is exactly why the crosswalk is worth having.

The mapping is not guaranteed complete. The ISRC ↔ ISWC links come from The MLC. 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.

Using the converter

How the crosswalk works

Streaming apps show neither 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.

The three codes

ISRC vs ISWC vs UPC

Three identifiers sit on top of the same piece of music, and they are constantly confused for one another. Each one names a different thing: the product you buy, the recording you hear, and the song that was written.

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
UPC / EAN
Universal Product Code
A release as a product: an album or single.
Example0 06025 12345 6
ISRCISWCUPC / EAN
What it identifiesOne master recording.One composition: melody and lyrics.One release, sold as a product.
Who assigns itThe label or distributor that releases the master.The publishing side: a society or publisher registers the work and the code is issued through the ISWC agency network.The label or distributor, from a barcode range issued by GS1.
A new one is minted whenA new master exists: radio edit, extended mix, live take, remaster, re-record.In principle never for the same song: one composition keeps one work code across every recording of it.A new package ships: album, single, deluxe edition, reissue.
What it looks like12 characters, CC-XXX-YY-NNNNN.The letter T plus ten digits.12 or 13 digits.

The single most useful line to remember: a UPC is what you buy, an ISRC is what you hear, an ISWC is what was written. If you only need to check that an ISRC is well-formed, the free ISRC validator decodes its four parts without a lookup.

Why it matters

Why cross 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.

One code at a time is fine for a spot-check, but this work is almost always a list. Signed-in users get a bulk ISRC/ISWC tool in the dashboard: paste a column of codes (or import a CSV), run it in either direction, and export the crosswalk as a CSV. The same two endpoints back the developer API, so you can wire the crosswalk straight into a pipeline.

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 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 UPC (the barcode on a release) is the third code people mix up, and it sits at a different level again: it identifies a product, such as an album or a single, as a package. An album has one UPC, a separate ISRC for every track on it, and an ISWC for each of the underlying songs. Rule of thumb: UPC is what you buy, ISRC is what you hear, ISWC is what was written.
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.

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 93M+ recordings, behind one API key.

ISWC lookup for developersView the API docs →