---
title: Recordings
description: "Add the recordings of a work with their ISRC, label, release date and duration, and fix the formats the editor asks for."
keywords: [recordings, ISRC, label, album title, catalogue number, EAN, release date, duration, YYYYMMDD, HHMMSS]
---

A work can have many recordings. Add one row for each, with whatever you know about it. Societies use recordings to match plays to the work, so they are worth adding, but a file does not need them.

## Steps

1. In the work editor, find the card **Recordings (ISRCs)** and press **Add recording**. A card headed **Recording** and a number appears. The button **Save and go to recordings** saves the work and takes you there.
2. Type the [ISRC](/docs/cwr/glossary#isrc_recording): 12 characters, such as GBAAA2600001. It is a two-letter country code, three letters or digits, then seven digits.
3. Fill in the label, album title and catalogue number if you have them.
4. Open **Release date and duration** and fill in what you know, in the formats below. The release EAN is in the same place.
5. Press **Save work**.

To take a recording off the work, press its **Remove recording** button, then save.

## Add a recording from the list

Owners and editors can add one recording to a work without opening it.

1. In **Catalogue**, set the **Recordings** filter to **No recording listed**. Choosing **No recording listed** on the **Recordings** chart above the list does the same. See [Find, filter and sort works](/docs/workspace/catalogue/find).
2. Press **Add a recording** on the work's row. A window headed **Add a recording** opens, with the same boxes as the editor.
3. Fill in what you know and press **Save recording**. It stays off while every box is empty or a value is mistyped.

The window closes and a note reads **Recording added to** and the work's title. To add more recordings to that work, or change this one, open the work.

## The two formats

| Box | Type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Release date | Eight digits, year first: YYYYMMDD. It must be a real date. | 20260910 is 10 September 2026 |
| Duration | Six digits for hours, minutes and seconds: HHMMSS. Minutes and seconds go up to 59. | 000330 is 3 minutes 30 seconds |

The boxes are labelled **release date (YYYYMMDD)** and **duration (HHMMSS)**. Leave a box blank if you do not know it. A recording's duration is separate from the work's own duration, which is in [Edit a work](/docs/workspace/catalogue/edit-a-work).

![A recording in the work editor with Release date and duration open, showing the boxes for the release date and the duration.](/docs/img/workspace/recordings.png)

## What you will see

- A row with nothing in it reads **Nothing is filled in for recording** and a number, and is left out when you save.
- **Release date and duration** opens by itself when either value needs fixing, with the message under the box.
- A work with no ISWC, or no recording with an ISRC, gets a reminder in its **To do** panel that societies use these to match plays. It is a reminder only and is not counted as a problem.

## If something goes wrong

- **The ISRC looks mistyped.** Check it against your label or distributor, or clear the box. See [the ISRC problem](/docs/cwr/problems-and-fixes#recording-isrc-invalid).
- **The release date is not a date.** Use eight digits, with a real month and day. 30 February is not a date.
- **The duration is not a duration.** Use six digits, so 3 minutes 30 seconds is 000330. Minutes and seconds go up to 59.
- **The window says the work was changed after the list was loaded.** Nothing was saved. Close the window, reload the list and add the recording again.
- **The label or album title has letters a CWR file cannot carry.** Enter it in Latin letters. See [the label problem](/docs/cwr/problems-and-fixes#recording-label-letters-unrepresentable) and [the album title problem](/docs/cwr/problems-and-fixes#album-title-letters-unrepresentable).

## Related

- [Edit a work](/docs/workspace/catalogue/edit-a-work)
- [Fix problems on a work](/docs/workspace/catalogue/fix-problems)
- [Additional details](/docs/workspace/catalogue/additional-details)