What Is an IPI Number in Music? A Guide for Songwriters and Publishers

Picture a work registration almost finished. You have entered the song title and the writers, then hit a field for an IPI number and pause. Search the name and you can find more than one record. Which one follows the credit on this song?

Start with the exact name and role, not the first matching number. An IPI helps a rights system distinguish people and entities in its records. Your work data still needs the right writer and publisher attached to the song.

A search result gives you a candidate record; the credit line on the work tells you which name and role that record has to match, so compare them before submitting.

The number belongs to a name record

IPI stands for Interested Parties Information. The CISAC IPI system identifies the people and legal entities that have interests in musical works. An IPI number usually refers to a public IP Name Number, a record associated with a particular name. ASCAP describes the identifier as unique and usually 9 to 11 digits long.

There is another number behind that public name entry. CISAC calls it the IP Base Number, a private identifier for the underlying party. The MLC's IPI guide explains that the public IP Name Number is usually what people mean when they ask for an IPI. For a song registration, use the public name record the form asks you to identify, not a private system number.

One person can appear under more than one name. A songwriter who uses a pseudonym may have a separate IP Name Number for that name, and a publishing company has its own record. ASCAP's IPI FAQ notes that alternate names and pseudonyms can receive separate IPI name numbers. The first result that shares your legal name may still be the wrong one for the credit on your song.

Find the entry that matches the credit

Search the repertoire at your performing rights organization (PRO) using the exact writer name shown on the work. If you're an ASCAP member, ASCAP says your IPI is available in Member Access. The MLC's IPI guide also points songwriters toward PRO repertories when they need to find an IPI.

Check the name line, not just the digits. A middle initial, a professional alias, or a company suffix can separate two records that look nearly identical in a search. If several results appear, compare the writer or publisher role and the exact registered name before copying anything.

Look up a publisher separately when the work lists one. Your writer record and your publishing entity are different entries, even if you administer the catalog yourself. Don't put the writer's IPI in a publisher field because it was the only number you had at hand.

Names collide. That's why the number helps. Say your song uses a stage name, while your publishing company is registered under a different business name. Search the writer entry under the credit and the publisher entry under the company; keep each IPI beside its role. Same person. Separate records. Confirm the role next to each result. If the song has co-writers, repeat the check for every credited writer instead of copying your own number into their row.

Put each number in the field it belongs in

For a self-administered songwriter using The MLC, its guidance recommends identifying both the writer and publisher records. The instructions put the publisher IPI in the member profile and the writer IPI on each work registration. Keep the two entries in their own lanes: the publisher record belongs with the publishing account, while the writer record belongs with the person credited on the composition.

This separation matters once a catalog has several writers and a separate administrator; each writer belongs to a name record, while each publisher belongs to its own party record. Different role. Different record.

If you haven't registered a separate publishing entity, don't invent one to fill a box. Check whether the form is asking for a writer, a publisher, or either. Use the record that matches the role, and confirm any uncertain setup with the organization that owns the registration screen.

IPIs help The MLC match music-rights data and support royalty distribution. The identifier gives a system another way to distinguish names that might otherwise be confused. Pair it with the song title, writer credits, publisher information, and ownership data so it points to a complete work record.

Keep IPI separate from song and recording codes

The MLC's song-data guide recommends keeping IPI, IPN, or ISNI details alongside an ISWC for the musical work and an ISRC for each recording. Those identifiers answer different questions. IPI points to a party or name record, ISWC identifies the composition, and ISRC identifies a particular sound recording.

In your catalog sheet, keep an IPI beside each writer or publisher, an ISWC beside the composition, and an ISRC beside each recording and its version; that way a delivery form's recording field won't inherit the writer's ID.

A song can have several recordings, so an ISRC shouldn't be used as the writer's identifier. Keep the numbers in separate columns in your catalog sheet, beside the name or asset they identify. For the copyright filings themselves, see Music Copyright Registration Explained.

After you find the entries, save them with the title and alternate title of the work, the writer list, and the publishing details. Do it once in the catalog sheet, then use that record when a PRO or collection society asks for the same data. Next time a registration asks, you can pull the data from one accurate record.

Your share lives somewhere else

Treat the IPI as a routing label, not a royalty split. It helps a rights system recognize the writer or publisher record to attach to a work. The work registration and the agreements around the song still carry the questions of which parties are credited and how the shares are divided.

If a royalty statement points to the wrong party, compare the credited names against the work registration and signed split agreement, then ask the rights organization to correct the record tied to that work.

Before you submit the work

• Search the exact credited writer name in the relevant PRO repertory, including the professional name used on the song.
• Look up the publishing entity separately if the work has one.
• Match the writer IPI and publisher IPI to the correct fields in the registration screen.
• Keep IPI beside party names, ISWC beside the composition, and ISRC beside each recording.
• Store the split sheet and publishing documents with the song data so you can confirm party names and percentages later.

An IPI gets the right name into the right record. The song still needs clean credits and a clear split.