How to Get an IPI Number for Songwriters and Publishers

To get an IPI number, join a performance rights organization (PRO). The number is issued through your PRO membership on behalf of CISAC, the international body that runs the global Interested Parties Information database. You do not apply to CISAC directly, and for songwriters the application through ASCAP or BMI is free. Once your membership is approved, the number typically appears in your online account right away.¹

Who Can Get One

IPI numbers are assigned to songwriters, composers, lyricists, and music publishers.¹ You have to hold a legal interest in a musical composition, either as its creator or as an authorized administrator of the rights. You cannot obtain one just by asking. Heirs and estates that inherit songwriting rights can receive or maintain an IPI linkage with documentation showing the transfer of ownership. Publishing companies qualify as well but go through a separate publisher track.

Pick a Performance Rights Organization

Your PRO choice is what produces the number, because the PRO generates it as part of enrolling you. In the United States there are four PROs, but only two are open to anyone.

ASCAP has open membership. Writer membership is free. Publisher-only membership carries a one-time $50 processing fee, waived if you join as both writer and publisher at the same time.²
BMI has open membership. Songwriter affiliation is free with no annual dues. Publisher fees range from $175 for an individual publisher to $250 for a corporation or LLC, and $500 for a partnership. Writers sign a two-year agreement; publishers sign a five-year agreement.³⁴
SESAC is invitation only and does not accept unsolicited applications. The recommended path is to have a lawyer, manager, or agent contact SESAC on your behalf.⁵
Global Music Rights is invitation only, representing writers whose works meet a threshold of commercial value in the performing rights marketplace.

If you want an IPI number quickly and at no cost as a writer, ASCAP or BMI is the practical answer. Both accept applications online.

What to Have Ready Before You Apply

The application is short, but assemble the details first so you can finish in one sitting. You’ll need:

Your full legal name exactly as it appears on government-issued ID.
A current email address and mailing address.
Your Social Security number or, if you’re applying as a business, an Employer Identification Number. Performance royalties are reported to the IRS on Form 1099-MISC, Box 2.⁶⁷
Bank account details for direct deposit of royalties.
Any stage names or pseudonyms you write under. PROs link professional aliases to your legal identity so royalties for works credited to different names all route back to you. BMI assigns a separate IPI for each name on file, so a writer with multiple names will hold multiple IPI numbers.⁸

If You’re Registering a Publishing Company

Publisher applicants submit documentation proving the entity’s legal standing, such as articles of incorporation, an LLC operating agreement, or a partnership agreement. Fees are higher than for writer membership and vary by entity type at BMI.⁴ BMI applicants under 18 must provide a custodial trust bank account at a U.S. bank.⁹

If You’re Outside the United States

You can still join a U.S. PRO from abroad, but the tax form changes. Instead of a Social Security number, submit IRS Form W-8BEN to establish foreign status. Without it, the default withholding on U.S.-sourced royalty payments is 30%.¹⁰ To claim a reduced rate under a tax treaty, include your foreign tax identification number or an ITIN on the form. Many non-U.S. songwriters instead join their home country’s collection society, which issues an IPI through the same CISAC system.

Submitting the Application and Getting the Number

Applications at ASCAP and BMI are handled online. Once you submit and pay any applicable fee, verification is quick. ASCAP states the IPI is assigned immediately when membership is approved and appears in the Profile section of your Member Access account.¹ If more than a week passes after approval without one showing, check that section before contacting member services.

The number itself is typically 9 to 11 digits.¹ Your PRO does not create it independently; it’s generated on behalf of CISAC, and the underlying database is maintained by SUISA, a Swiss collection society. Once assigned, the number is permanent. It follows you for your career regardless of representation changes. Record it somewhere secure and include it on copyright registrations and future work notifications.

Writer and Publisher Numbers Are Separate

If you register as both a writer and a publisher with the same PRO, you receive two distinct IPI numbers, one for each role.¹ The writer IPI tracks your creative interest in a composition. The publisher IPI tracks the administrative and licensing interest. When you register a song, you identify the writers and publishers by their separate IPI numbers. Swapping them or leaving the publisher IPI off can send the publisher’s share into an unmatched pool instead of your account.

Confirming Your Number in the Public Database

After your account is active, verify that your IPI appears in your PRO’s public repertoire search. ASCAP’s Repertory Search shows your IPI alongside your name and registered works.¹ BMI’s Musical Works Data Platform lets anyone search by writer or publisher name and displays the associated IPI in the results.¹¹ Public visibility is how collection societies in other countries identify you when your music is performed abroad. If your IPI doesn’t appear within a reasonable time after membership is confirmed, contact member services; the cause is usually a data sync delay with the central database and it can be resolved quickly.

Switching PROs Later

An IPI is not tied to a single PRO. If you leave one organization and join another, the number goes with you.¹ You give the new PRO your existing IPI so it can be linked to the new membership, and works already tied to that number stay connected to it. One limit worth knowing: you can only belong to one PRO at a time for the same role. You can’t hold active writer memberships at both ASCAP and BMI simultaneously, though you can have your writer membership at one and your publishing company affiliated with another.

Why the Number Matters

An IPI identifies you as a person or company. An International Standard Musical Work Code (ISWC) identifies a specific song. The two work together: the IPI links a rights holder to a composition, and the ISWC gives that composition its own global fingerprint.¹² An ISWC cannot be assigned until every writer on a work has an IPI.¹³ If you co-write and your collaborator hasn’t joined a PRO, the song can’t get its code, and tracking failures follow. Encouraging co-writers to obtain their own IPI numbers is one of the most practical things you can do to protect royalties across territories.

Getting the number is step one. Registering every work you’ve written with correct writer and publisher IPI data is what keeps royalties from ending up in the unmatched pool that collection societies eventually redistribute.

1
ASCAP. All About IPI Numbers
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ASCAP. Music Creators
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BMI. What Is the Fee to Join as a Songwriter or Composer
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BMI. What Is the Fee to Create a Publishing Company With BMI
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SESAC. Frequently Asked Questions
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Internal Revenue Service. Taxpayer Identification Numbers TIN
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC
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BMI. What Is an IPI/CAE Number
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Broadcast Music, Inc. Join BMI Affiliate With BMI as a Songwriter or Music Publisher
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-8BEN
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BMI. Musical Works Data Platform User Guide
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APRA AMCOS. IPIs, ISRCs and ISWCs
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ASCAP. All About ISWCs and How They Can Help You Get Paid