The International Standard Music Number (ISMN): A History and Current Status Report

History The world-wide International Standard Music Number (ISMN) system now comprises 49 agencies, some of which cover several countries. Its basis is the standard ISO 10957 which was published in 1993 after intense discussions between standards experts and representatives of the music sector. They had monitored the success of the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) and looked for something similar to promote rationalisation and efficiency in music publications. There was a strong view that ISBN was not convenient, however, for use in the music-trade, and the most favoured solution was, for a period of rime, the construction of an identifier which mirrored bibliographic relationships, e.g., between scores and parts. The IAML-UK Branch developed an alternative model which was closer to the ISBN, was dumber but easier to handle. As a distinguishing feature the music identifier started with the letter M to prevent any confusion with the ISBN. A memorable meeting in Ottawa in 1991 brought the decision about the future development of the number. Arnold Broido, successively president and vice-president of the International Music Publishers Association, was convinced that the British proposal would be easier to achieve and was more adapted to automation. There were also attempts to eliminate the M, especially by the undersigned, as computers would not handle the alpha character easily, and therefore only a ten-digit string would be used in the electronic environment. In addition, the barcode application precluded the use of an alpha character in the string. But the supporters of the M prevailed, and in 1993 the new standard was implemented, with the International ISMN Agency being installed at the Berlin State Library. It did not receive any support from the Berlin State Library. Current Situation As the number of existing agencies indicates there is much interest in application of the number, even in countries that only have a small music production. This is partly because these countries are eager to cover the whole publication sector and can profit from the better bibliographic control and the convenient trade applications afforded by the ISO identifiers on the manifestation level (to use this term from the Functional Requirements of Bibliographic Records, FRBR) for the ISBN, ISSN, and ISMN systems. While there is no problem in tracking down publications by major music publishers such as Schott or Barenreiter, small publishers in Brazil or Ghana practically have no international market. The use of an international standard identifier makes them part of the international system, with the respective benefits. While most major music countries have become ISMN members, a few major markets have still not accepted the system, including The Netherlands, Belgium, The United States, and Japan. In The Netherlands, the challenge has been to find an agency to administer ISMN, and this is true also for Belgium, where the division according to the two major languages makes it difficult to find a national agency. The USA are much interested, and it would be a major step forward if they embraced the system. While the Japanese IAML representatives have been very supportive, the industry has still to be persuaded. One way to achieve a breakthrough might be an ISMN symposium in Japan, an event which the International Agency is unable to fund. MPIID During the last ten years the International Agency published (partly in cooperation with K. G. Saur Publishing) the Music Publishers International ISMN Directory (M-PIID) which for the first rime provided a survey of the world's music publishers. It contained publishers names and addresses (and, of course, ISMN prefixes) for music publishers and other organisations from more than 70 countries. When the co-publisher withdrew from the publication owing to the worldwide decline of the library market, the International Agency published a CD-ROM version (6th edition, May 2006; ISBN 3-88053-137-4. …

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