How to Look Up Who Wrote a Song
Find songwriter credits, composer names, publisher chains, and ownership shares for any song — all for free.
Quick answer — Search any song on Credits.fm to see its full songwriter and publisher credits, sourced from the MLC's public ownership data.
Search songwriter creditsWhat are songwriter credits?
Songwriter credits are the official record of who wrote a song. They identify every person who contributed to the composition — the melody, lyrics, or both — and determine who receives royalties whenever that song is played, streamed, or licensed.
For example, “Bohemian Rhapsody” was written solely by Freddie Mercury. “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd has five credited songwriters: Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd), Max Martin, Jason Quenneville, Oscar Holter, and Ahmad Balshe. These credits are not opinions — they are legal records that determine how millions of dollars in royalties are split.
A complete songwriter credit typically includes:
- Songwriter name — The legal name of the person who wrote the composition (which may differ from their stage name).
- Role — Whether they are a composer (C), author/lyricist (A), or both (CA).
- Share percentage — What fraction of the composition's royalties they are entitled to.
- Publisher — The entity that administers their publishing rights and collects royalties on their behalf.
- IPI code — A unique numeric identifier for the songwriter, used by royalty collection societies worldwide.
How to search on Credits.fm
Credits.fm lets you look up songwriter credits for any song in the MLC's database. Here is how:
- Go to Credits.fm and type a song title, artist name, or ISRC into the search bar.
- Select the recording from the search results. Each result shows the song title, artist, and ISRC code.
- View the credits. The detail page shows the full songwriter breakdown: each writer's name, their role (composer, lyricist, or both), their ownership share percentage, and the publisher chain that administers their rights.
- Explore connected identifiers. From the ISRC detail page, you can navigate to the song's ISWC (musical work code) or click on a songwriter's name to see their IPI code and other works they have written.
Where songwriter data comes from
Songwriter credits are not something platforms like Spotify or Apple Music make up. They originate from formal registration with royalty collection organizations:
| Source | What it provides | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| The MLC | Songwriter names, roles, share percentages, publisher chains, ISWC connections | US mechanical rights (streaming royalties) |
| ASCAP / BMI / SESAC | Songwriter names, publisher affiliations | US performance rights |
| PRS / GEMA / SACEM | Songwriter names, IPI codes, work registrations | International (UK, Germany, France, etc.) |
| MusicBrainz | Songwriter names, ISWCs, artist-work relationships | Global, community-maintained (CC0) |
Credits.fm primarily uses MLC data for songwriter ownership because it is the most comprehensive and authoritative source for the US market. MusicBrainz provides supplementary metadata.
Understanding the credits you find
When you look up a song on Credits.fm, here is what the different fields mean:
Songwriter roles
Composer — Wrote the music/melody
Author — Wrote the lyrics
Composer & Author — Wrote both music and lyrics
Arranger — Created a specific arrangement of the composition
Share percentages
The share percentage tells you how the composition royalties are split. If a song has three co-writers with equal shares, each would have approximately 33.33%. These shares determine how mechanical royalties (from streaming) and performance royalties (from radio, live venues, etc.) are divided.
Publisher chains
A publisher chain shows the hierarchy of publishers that administer a writer's share. For example: a songwriter might be published by an independent publisher like Artist Publishing Group, which is administered by a major like Universal Music Publishing Group. Credits.fm displays these chains so you can trace exactly who controls each piece of the ownership.
Other places to look up songwriters
Credits.fm is the easiest way to search across multiple sources at once, but you can also check these individual databases directly:
- ASCAP ACE (ascap.com/repertory) — Search ASCAP's catalog of registered works by title, songwriter, or performer.
- BMI Songview (bmi.com/songview) — Look up songwriter and publisher information for BMI-registered works.
- SESAC (sesac.com/repertory) — Search SESAC's repertory for songwriter affiliations.
- MusicBrainz (musicbrainz.org) — A community-maintained open database with songwriter credits for millions of songs. CC0 licensed.
- ISWC search on Credits.fm (iswc.fm) — If you have the ISWC code for a musical work, you can look it up directly to see all connected songwriter credits.
Keep in mind that PRO databases (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) only show works registered with that specific PRO. A songwriter registered with BMI will not appear in ASCAP's database. Credits.fm combines data across these boundaries.
Why songwriter credits matter
Songwriter credits are not just trivia — they have real financial and legal consequences:
- Royalty distribution — Mechanical royalties from streaming, performance royalties from radio and public venues, and sync royalties from TV and film are all split according to songwriter credits.
- Copyright ownership — The credited songwriters are the legal authors of the composition, which is a separate copyright from the sound recording.
- Sampling clearance — If you want to sample a song, you need to identify and contact the songwriters (or their publishers) to negotiate a license.
- Cover songs — Knowing who wrote a song helps you obtain the mechanical license needed to legally release a cover version.
- Music supervision — Film, TV, and ad music supervisors need accurate credits to clear songs for sync placements.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find out who wrote a specific song?
Search for the song on Credits.fm by title, artist name, or ISRC code. The detail page will show songwriter credits including composer and lyricist names, their roles, ownership share percentages, and the publishers who represent them.
What is the difference between a songwriter and a composer?
In music publishing, a "composer" typically wrote the melody or music, while an "author" or "lyricist" wrote the words. Many songwriters do both. In official credits, you may see roles like "C" (composer), "A" (author/lyricist), or "CA" (composer and author — someone who wrote both music and lyrics).
What does the share percentage mean in songwriter credits?
The share percentage represents what portion of the composition's royalties a songwriter or publisher is entitled to. For example, if two songwriters each have a 50% share, they split the composition royalties equally. Publisher shares are separate from writer shares and together they total 100% of the publishing rights.
Why are publisher names listed alongside songwriters?
Songwriters typically assign their publishing rights to a music publisher, who then administers, licenses, and collects royalties on their behalf. The publisher chain shows the contractual relationship: the songwriter's share is administered by their publisher, which may in turn be administered by a larger publishing group.
Where does Credits.fm get its songwriter data?
Credits.fm aggregates songwriter data from multiple public sources, primarily the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), which maintains the authoritative database of musical work ownership for the US market. Additional metadata comes from MusicBrainz, a community-maintained open music database.
Can I look up who wrote a song that isn't on streaming platforms?
Credits.fm's database primarily covers songs that are registered with the MLC or listed in MusicBrainz. For older or unreleased songs, you can also check ASCAP ACE (ace.ascap.com), BMI Songview (songview.bmi.com), or the CISAC ISWC database for registered compositions.
What is a publisher chain?
A publisher chain is the hierarchy of publishing entities that administer a songwriter's share. For example, a songwriter might be signed to an independent publisher, which is administered by a major publisher like Sony Music Publishing or Universal Music Publishing. Credits.fm shows these chains so you can see exactly who controls each share.
Why do some songs show "unmatched" or missing songwriter credits?
A song may show as "unmatched" if the MLC has not yet linked the sound recording (identified by ISRC) to its underlying musical composition and songwriter data. This is a common issue — millions of recordings remain unmatched. If you are a songwriter, registering your works with the MLC helps resolve this.
Try it yourself
Look up real songwriter credits for well-known songs:
Key terms
- Mechanical royalty
- A payment made to songwriters and publishers each time their composition is reproduced — including every stream on Spotify, Apple Music, or any other digital service. In the US, the MLC collects and distributes mechanical royalties from streaming.
- IPI (Interested Parties Information)
- A unique numeric code (typically 9-11 digits) assigned to songwriters and publishers by royalty collection societies. IPIs are used worldwide to identify rights holders and track their works across different organizations.
- ISWC (International Standard Musical Work Code)
- A unique identifier for a musical composition (the song itself, not a specific recording). An ISWC like T-345246800-1 connects all recordings of a song to its underlying composition and songwriter credits.
- PRO (Performance Rights Organization)
- An organization like ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC that collects and distributes performance royalties on behalf of songwriters and publishers when their music is played publicly — on radio, in venues, on TV, or via streaming.
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