Fix row problems

Updated October 29, 202611 min readGeneral

Use this guide when the CWR creator lists problems in your sheet. CWR (Common Works Registration) is the text format publishers use to register works with collecting societies.

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How the problems table works

After you add your sheet, the creator shows a table with three columns: Row, Column, and "What’s wrong". Above it, a heading counts the errors and warnings, such as "1 error in your sheet".

Row is the row as your spreadsheet counts it. Row 1 is the header row, so your first work is on row 2.
Column is the column the problem is in. "(whole row)" means the problem is about the row or the work, not one cell.
Error stops the build. Fix every error and add the sheet again.
Warning does not stop the build. Read it, because it may point at something you did not mean.
Errors come first, then warnings. The table lists up to 200 problems and says how many more are not listed.

The problem messages come from the same engine as our CWR checker. The tables below say each one in plain words. Your message names your own values.

The header row and the columns

What the creator found	What to do
Error: the sheet has no "Row type" column, or no "Work number" column, and every row needs it. The message lists the headers it did find.	Compare your header row with the template. Check that the header is in the first row, with one name in each cell. In a CSV, check that commas, semicolons, or tabs separate the columns. No rows are checked until this is fixed.
Warning: a column is not a column of the template, so it is left out.	Remove it, or ignore it. Its cells are not read.
Warning: a column appears more than once, so only the first is read.	Remove the repeat.
Warning: columns are not in the sheet, so their cells are read as empty.	Add them from the template if you need them.
Error: the sheet has no usable WORK row.	Add one WORK row for each work.

Row type, work number, and title

What the creator found	What to do
Error: the row type is empty, or is not WORK, WRITER, PUBLISHER, ALT TITLE, PERFORMER or RECORDING.	Write one of the six row types.
Error: the work number is empty.	Every row needs the number of its work.
Error: the work number is too long.	Use a number of up to 14 characters, counted in capitals.
Error: the work number is already used by an earlier WORK row.	Give each work its own number.
Error: there is no WORK row for this work number.	Add a WORK row, or fix the number on this row.
Error: the title is empty (on a WORK or ALT TITLE row).	Fill in Title.
Error: the name is empty (on a WRITER, PUBLISHER, or PERFORMER row).	Fill in Name.

Text

A line break or a tab inside a cell becomes a space, and hidden zero-width characters are dropped. Neither gives a message.

What the creator found	What to do
Error: the text has a control character or a soft hyphen in it.	Type the text again.
Error: a letter cannot be written in this file, which holds text in capitals, or cannot be turned into capitals without becoming a letter of another alphabet.	Replace the letter with a plain letter, or leave it out.
Warning: a letter is outside plain A to Z. Most societies reject such letters in titles and names.	Check what your society accepts, or write plain letters. Only an alternative title of type OL or AL may carry them.
Warning: the text is longer than the field, and the message shows what it will be cut to.	Shorten it yourself if the cut is wrong.
Warning: a value is in a column that row type does not use, so it is left out of the file.	Move it to the right row, or delete it.

Values in a cell

What the creator found	What to do
Error: an IPI name number is not made of digits, is longer than 11 digits, or is all zeros.	Enter the 11-digit number, or empty the cell.
Error: an IPI name number has fewer than 11 digits and padding it with zeros does not pass the check-digit test.	Look the number up and enter all 11 digits. We do not guess.
Error: an IPI name number looks like a number the spreadsheet rewrote in scientific form.	Format the column as text and type the number again.
Warning: an 11-digit IPI name number fails the check-digit test.	Check the number against the society's record.
Error: an ISWC is not `T` and ten digits.	Fix the shape. See Fix an ISWC that has the wrong shape.
Error: an ISRC is not 12 letters and digits.	Fix it. Dashes are fine.
Error: a society code is not a number of up to three digits.	Use the society's three-digit code, such as `021`.
Warning: a society code is not in either society list the creator holds.	Check the code.
Error: a territory code is not a number of up to four digits, or is not a current territory code.	Use codes such as `2136` or `0826`.
Warning: a territory code is listed twice, or is a group of territories.	See Territories, alternative titles, performers and recordings.
Error: a language is not a two-letter code the creator knows.	Use a code such as EN, FR, or ES.
Error: a category is not POP, JAZ, or UNC. SER is not supported.	Use POP, JAZ, or UNC, or leave the cell empty.
Error: a title type is not one the creator knows, or is OT.	Use AT, or another type from the list. The original title belongs on the WORK row.
Error: an ALT TITLE of type OL or AL has no language.	Fill in Language.
Error: a writer role is empty or unknown, or is a real role this template does not write.	Use C, A, CA, AR, AD, SR, SA, or TR.
Error: a publisher role is not E.	Use E, or leave the role empty.
Error: a duration is not a length, or seconds go above 59, or minutes go above 59 when hours are given, or it is over 99 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds.	Write `3:25` or `1:03:25`.
Error: a release date is not a real date.	Write `2026-03-06`.
Error: a share is not a percentage, has more than two decimal places, or is over 100.	Write a number such as `50` or `33.33`.
Error: Controlled is empty, or is not Y or N.	Write Y or N.
Error: an ISRC is empty on a RECORDING row.	Fill in ISRC.

Writers and publishers on a work

These problems are about one work, so the Column cell is often "(whole row)" on the WORK row.

What the creator found	What to do
Error: the work has no WRITER row.	Add at least one writer.
Error: no writer has the role C, A, or CA.	Add a composer or author.
Warning: no writer or publisher is Controlled = Y.	Mark the parties you represent. See Writers, publishers and shares.
Error: a work has more than 99 PUBLISHER rows.	Remove rows, or split the work.
Warning: two writers, or two publishers, have the same IPI name number or the same name.	Use one row, or give different people different IPI name numbers. For a composer who is also the author, use the role CA.
Error: a Party key is already used by another publisher on the work.	Give each publisher its own key.
Error: a controlled publisher has no IPI name number, or a publisher has the name of a society and no IPI name number.	Fill in IPI name number.
Error: the Publisher cell holds separators but no publisher.	Name a Party key or an IPI name number, or empty the cell.
Error: the Publisher cell names a key or IPI name number that no PUBLISHER row of the work has.	Check the spelling, or add the publisher row.
Error: the Publisher cell matches more than one PUBLISHER row.	Give those rows different Party keys and use the key.
Error: the Publisher cell names a publisher that is not Controlled = Y.	Link a controlled writer only to a controlled publisher.
Error: the work has a controlled publisher, the writers do not own all of every right, and a controlled writer has no publisher link.	Name the publisher in the Publisher column.
Error: a controlled composer or author has no share, and the work has a modifier with no share either.	Give a share to the creator, or to a controlled arranger, adaptor, sub-arranger, sub-author, or translator.

What the creator found	What to do
Error: the owned shares of a right (PR, MR or SR) on the work add up to something other than 100%. The message gives the total, the writers' part, and the publishers' part.	Look in the owned column of the work's rows for a missing party or a typo. If the right is not claimed, empty the column on every row of the work.
Error: a publisher owns more than 50% of the performing right, or the publishers together do.	Lower the publisher shares. The writers hold the rest.
Error: the writers' performing shares add up to more than 0% but less than 50%.	Make them add up to 0% or to at least 50%.
Error: a controlled publisher owns none of the work.	Give it a share in PR, MR, or SR.
Error: a publisher's performing share collected differs from the share it owns.	Empty the PR collected % cell to use the owned share.
Warning: a controlled writer or publisher owns a share but collects none of it.	Empty the collected cells, or give a collected share.
Error: the shares collected in one territory add up to more than 100%.	Lower a collected share, or give the parties different territories.

See Writers, publishers and shares for how each rule works.

A time or date that the spreadsheet turned into a number

An Excel file can store a length or a date as a bare number, such as 0.1423 for 3:25. When the creator finds that, it adds this sentence to the message: "The spreadsheet stored it as a number. Format the column as text and type it again."

In Excel, select the column and format it as text.
Type the value again, as 3:25 or 2026-03-06.
Save the sheet and add it again. You can also save it as a CSV.

The template formats its columns as text, so this happens most in sheets that did not start from it. See Fix spreadsheet damage.

If the creator will not open your file

What you see	What to do
"That file is empty."	Add a sheet that has a header row and your works.
"That file is too large."	A sheet of 25 works is far smaller than the limit. Check that you chose the right file.
"We can’t read .xls files."	In Excel, choose Save as and pick "Excel Workbook (.xlsx)" or "CSV".
"We can’t read that kind of file."	Use a .csv or .xlsx file.
"That isn’t an Excel workbook."	The name ends in .xlsx, but the file is something else. Open it in Excel and save it again as .xlsx or CSV.
"We can’t read that Excel file."	It may be password-protected. Save the sheet as CSV and add that.
"We couldn’t read that Excel file."	It may be damaged. Open it in Excel, save it as CSV, and add the CSV.
"We couldn’t read that file."	Open it in a spreadsheet app and save it again as CSV (comma-separated).

What to check next

Add the sheet again. When it has no problems, the creator says "No problems found in the rows of 3 works.", with your own number of works.
Go on to sender details. See Sender details.

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