PRS for Music to launch free portal providing access to songwriter credits and industry identifiers

PRS for Music CEO Andrea Czapary Martin

British Collection Society PRS for Music is planning to launch a new online portal for songwriter and composer credits.

PRS claims that “for the first time, metadata attributed to over 2 million works will be published, with plans to release millions more, over the following 12 months”.   

The new online tool will allow songwriters, composers and music publishers to search and download key data about their works.

It will also allow them to highlight any discrepancies.

Additionally, the new tool will give DSPs access to writer information, which PRS says will facilitate  “more songwriter credits on streaming services”.  

The portal will give access to works data including writer and composer names, the musical work and recording title(s), the International Standard Recording Code (ISRC), the International Standard Works Code (ISWC), the Interested Parties Identifier (IPI) numbers, as well as the Tunecode (PRS for Music’s unique identifier).

PRS for Music says that it “convened a consortium of industry experts”, including DSPs, record labels, music publishers and other rights management organisations to support the design and implementation of the new service. 

The org also says that “by releasing this information, PRS for Music is determined to remove key barriers to the flow of royalties worldwide, ultimately improving the matching of sound recordings and musical works and increasing the speed and accuracy of royalty payments”.

The portal will launch early 2023 and will be free to access. 

“PRS for Music are embracing the latest technologies to build this portal, empowering members to grow the value of their works through better visibility.”

Andrea Czapary Martin, PRS

Commenting on the new portal, PRS for Music CEO Andrea Czapary Martin, said: “PRS for Music are embracing the latest technologies to build this portal, empowering members to grow the value of their works through better visibility.

“We’re putting the power of metadata into the hands of creators for their benefit. Clean data directs the flow of royalties and is the key to ensuring that songwriters and music publishers are properly paid for the use of their music and are given credit for their songs. This is fundamental to securing a stronger global royalty system”. Music Business Worldwide