Publishers' Responsibilities

Corrections and additions to the List of Publishers

It is important that the information in the List of Publishers of the Finnish ISBN Agency and the International ISBN Agency is correct. Please fill in the electronic corrections form immediately after a change of address or other contact information. The publisher is responsible for updating.

The publishers' responsibilities

The publisher is responsible for obtaining an ISMN for the individual musical publications and that the items are numbered according to the regulations of the national numbering centre.

Publishers with a large title output will receive a shorter publisher identifier and a larger range of item identifiers. Publishers with a smaller production will receive a longer publisher identifier and less item identifiers. If, for example, a publisher has a three-digit publisher identifier, the publisher will receive 100,000 item identifiers for their musical publications. If the publisher identifier consists of six digits, they receive 100 item identifier.

The large publishers receive an ISMN number list from the Finnish ISBN Agency, and the publisher is responsible for the numbering. Used numbers are reported to the Agency as agreed upon. Publishers with only occasional publishing or a small production will get their ISMNs directly from the Finnish ISBN Agency, preferably by fax or e-mail. Publishers must designate a person to be in charge of the assignment of numbers for musical publications.