Guides

CWR for ICE

ICE administers performance and mechanical rights in Europe (hub). Not a society but the copyright hub owned by PRS, GEMA, and STIM.

History

ICE began in 2010 as a shared works database built by PRS and STIM; GEMA joined in 2012, and the integrated licensing and processing hub — the first of its kind — launched in 2015. It now also serves other societies' back offices.

CWR at ICE

ICE is where CWR consolidation actually happened in Europe: one delivery, one set of validation rules, three owner societies. When a rejection cites ICE rather than the society you sent to, this is why.

Publishers deliver CWR files to ICE directly (as members, affiliates, or sub-publishers). Like nearly every CISAC society, ICE works in the CWR 2.1 / 2.2 era — the versions in production use worldwide since the standard displaced the proprietary registration formats of the 1990s. Per-society delivery profiles do change, so confirm the current version and any local quirks before a first delivery.

Related societies

PRS for Music · GEMA · STIM

More: which societies accept CWR · what a CWR file is · files bound for ICE can be checked free on the validator. ICE is an independent organization; CWR Check is not affiliated with it.

Two free checks for your CWR file. Is the file correct? Every record, share and control total against the spec, each problem on its exact line. Do its writers match their registrations? Every writer cross-checked against public registration data, including works registered under another spelling or IPI. Nothing stored: check a file at cwrcheck.com.