How to check a CWR file
- Choose your CWR file (.V21, .V22 or .txt), or paste its contents. Try the sample to see a clean file.
- The validator reads the header, every group and work, and checks each record against the CWR 2.1/2.2 layout.
- Fix the errors — a society is likely to reject those records — and review the warnings.
- The works table shows each work's writers, publishers and PR/MR/SR totals; totals that aren't 100% are red.
What gets checked
- Structure: the file starts with HDR and ends with TRL; each group has a GRH and GRT; group IDs run from 00001; the transaction and record counts in GRT and TRL match the file.
- Sequence numbers: transaction numbers restart at 00000000 in each group, and record numbers restart at 00000000 for each transaction.
- Works (NWR/REV): title, submitter work number, ISWC check digit, distribution category (POP, SER, JAZ, UNC), version type (ORI, MOD), recorded indicator, duration and dates.
- Writers and publishers (SWR/OWR, SPU/OPU): required names and IP numbers, writer designation and publisher type codes, society codes and share formats.
- Links: PWR, SPT and SWT records must refer to a writer or publisher in the same work.
- Ownership shares: for each right, all writers and publishers together must total 100% (within 0.06%), and a publisher's performing share can't exceed 50%.
Reading share fields
CWR stores percentages as five digits with two implied decimals: 05000 is 50.00% and 03333 is 33.33%. A common split in India is 50% PR to the writers and 50% to the publisher, with 100% of MR and SR going to the publisher. Territory records (SPT/SWT) use TIS codes such as 2136 for the world and 0356 for India.
Privacy
Your file is read and checked entirely in your browser — it is never uploaded. This tool checks the CWR 2.1/2.2 rules above; societies may apply extra checks of their own, and the acknowledgement (ACK) file they send back is the final word.
Frequently asked questions
What is a CWR file?
CWR (Common Works Registration) is the CISAC standard file format publishers use to register musical works with collecting societies such as IPRS, PRS, ASCAP, BMI and GEMA. It is a fixed-width text file: each line is a record (work, writer, publisher, territory…) with fields at exact character positions.
What does the validator check?
File structure (HDR, groups, trailers), transaction and record sequence numbers, the group/transaction/record counts in GRT and TRL, known record types, required fields, code values (distribution category, version type, writer designation, publisher type, title type), dates, ISWC check digits, ISRC and EAN formats, links between PWR/SPT/SWT records and their writers and publishers, and that PR, MR and SR ownership shares add up to 100%.
Why must ownership shares total 100%?
Societies pay royalties from the shares you register. For each right — performing (PR), mechanical (MR) and synchronisation (SR) — the shares of all writers and publishers on a work must add up to exactly 100% (CWR allows a tolerance of 0.06%), or be zero if that right isn't being claimed. A publisher's PR share can be at most 50%.
Which CWR versions are supported?
CWR 2.1 and 2.2 (files usually named .V21 or .V22). CWR 3.x files are detected and flagged, since their layout is different.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The file is read and checked entirely in your browser — nothing is sent to our servers.
Last updated: 24 September 2026Suggest an improvement · Report a problem