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ISMN (International Standard Music Number)
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The purpose of the ISMN (International Standard Music Number) is to allow for more efficient marketing of printed music products within the publishing houses, music trade, and libraries by establishing a unique identifier for each printed music title or edition of a title by a specific publisher.

What is an ISMN?
The ISMN is used to identify all international printed music publications, whether available for sale, hire or free. It is NOT used for sound, audio tapes, CDs, video recordings or for books on music.

What is the format of the ISMN?
Every ISMN consists of the letter M followed by nine digits, and when printed it is preceded by the letters ISMN. The ISMN is divided into four parts, two of which are variable in length, each part separated by a hyphen.