ISRC Codes

International Standard Recording Code

Ready to be sure your royalties can get tracked properly and have an easier time getting your music on iTunes?

The ISRC is the identification system for sound and music video recordings. Each ISRC is a unique and permanent identifier for a specific recording, to help identify recordings for royalty payments. It's assigned PER TRACK, not per CD.

Here's the homepage for the International Standard Recording Code and you can read the whole handbook, or skim the highlights that follow.

Here's the scoop - you need to get ISRC codes for each song. No problem. There's no service charge. (Unlike the UPC Barcode.)

It's up to you to get them to us to include on your master PRIOR to completion of your master.

Don't wait, do it now.

You can also have the CD manufacturing plant put the codes on at the time of pressing. Your CD manufacturing company should not charge you an arm and a leg for this but it's better if you just do it now.

Remember a recording is different than a song - the code belongs to the specific recording of each song. Remixes, singles or soundtracks that differ in any way from a specific recording will need a separate code number. It's easy! And did we mention, do it now?

How to get ISRC codes for your music:

For information, click on Official RIAA's Page
Or, click here for info that's easier to understand
To get your codes, click on "Download Registrant Application in PDF" or click here to get the form from us
Print out the form (you must have Adobe Acrobat, Preview or other PDF viewer)
Fill it in, sign and fax it to (202) 775-7253 as listed the bottom of the form page.
You will get your codes from the RIAA by email or fax.
Click here for Parental Advisory info

It will be a simple set of letters/numbers similar to this:
US JVM or it may look like this US-JVM-06-00001

The US is the country - the 3 letters are "you" - the 06 is the year, and the number after that (00001) is the song designation number.
You only apply ONCE for a code in your country. Your code stays with you forever! You as an artist, record company, production entity, etc. keep your code (the US-JVM in the above example) and simply change the year identifier each new year.
Then you just pick how you want to continue the sequence of designation numbers for any songs under your control.
If you released 32 songs in 2006, you can start the next year with the designation number at 00033 or 00001 if you wish.

NOTE!

This is really easy, but you are responsible to record, store and maintain written or filed records of the code(s) that the RIAA gives you!
You are responsible to know which songs/pieces of music you assign your individual codes to, as well as the sequence on any album or song collection you release!
File or keep your codes in a secure place in case you ever need to refer back to them (for instance if a digital download company or other person requests your information).
Remember - do it now!

Q) Does our company have to be a member of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) or my national music industry trade association in order to be eligible to assign ISRCs to our recordings?

No. The ISRC System is constructed so that any entity creating sound or music video recordings can issue ISRCs regardless of their membership of, or standing with, industry associations and other bodies.

What's in the actual code?

An ISRC is made up of four elements:
* ISO Country, e.g. GB for the UK, or US for the USA, DE for Germany, etc
* Registrant Code, a three alpha-numeric unique reference
* Year of Reference, the last two digits of the current year, e.g. '05' for 2005
* Designation Code, a five digit unique number, e.g. '00013'

The ISO Country Code and the Registrant Code are issued by the National Agencies or by the International ISRC Agency; the rest of the identifier is then allocated by the entity wishing to identify their sound or music video recordings.

Are the hyphens included when encoding an ISRC onto a CD?

No. The hyphens are only used when the ISRC Code is visually presented. Check out Section 3.5.1. More detailed information about ISRC implementation in software can be found in the ISRC Handbook, Section 4.10

Our company has just acquired the rights to a recording that already has an ISRC. Do we have to apply for a new ISRC for this recording?

No. The ISRC remains the same, regardless of changed ownership. The first owner of the rights to a recording normally assigns an ISRC. Once assigned that ISRC identifies the recording throughout its life. Changes in ownership do not affect the ISRC. However if changes are made to the recording that involve new artistic input and these affect the rights associated with that recording, and it is re-issued, the new owner must assign a new ISRC, using their Registrant Code.

What sorts of changes to an existing recording that already has an ISRC require a new ISRC?

These are some of the modifications to a recording that would require the allocation of a new ISRC:

* Restoration of historical recordings
* Changes in playing time
* Remixes/edits
* Compilations

More detailed information can be found in the ISRC Handbook Section 4.9

Our company uses an in-house code for identifying our sound and music video recordings. We then use this in the designation code of the ISRC. Sometimes an in-house code may apply to two versions of the same recording because we have re-mastered some of our back stock for re-issue. Can we use the same ISRC for the new re-mastered version?

No. Re-use of an ISRC that has already been allocated to another recording or to another version of a recording is not permitted in order to guarantee the unique and unambiguous identification provided by an ISRC. A new ISRC should be assigned whenever a recording has been re-issued in a revised or re-mastered form, even if both items have the same in-house code.

If a recording has been issued without an ISRC, can it be assigned one retroactively?

Yes. Recordings, which have not been assigned an ISRC, should be provided with one before it is re-released. If the recording has changed ownership, and did not have an ISRC originally and is being released unchanged by the current rights holder, the Registrant Code should be that of the current rights holder. The Year of Reference should be the year of allocation of the new ISRC.

Our artist plans to issue both sound and music video recordings. Do both types of product get an ISRC?

Yes. As well as using the ISRC to identify sound recordings and music video recordings, ISRC may be used to identify associated audio and audiovisual material, more detailed information can be found in the ISRC Handbook - Section 4.4 and Section 4.5

Does the ISRC System distinguish between sound and music video recordings released by the same company?

As national legislation often differentiates between the administrations of rights in sound recordings and in music video recordings (for instance as phonograms or videograms), it is recommended that the procedures for assigning ISRC include a means of distinguishing between audio and audiovisual formats in order to facilitate rights management.

It is left to the discretion of the National ISRC Agencies to decide the appropriate method of administering this distinction, more detailed information is available in the ISRC Handbook - Section 3.6

Which part of our company should be responsible for issuing ISRCs to our releases?

The head honcho... the record company.... the main dude or dudette... whoever's in charge, but ultimately it's up to YOU to be sure it gets done....! Be sure you get it right. It is important that ISRCs are actually encoded into appropriate digital products. And since ISRCs are normally allocated at the point prior to the preparation of the final production Pre-Master it is recommended that the responsibility for assigning ISRCs is linked to the area responsible for this process.

What happens when an ISRC is assigned to the wrong item? How can the problem be solved? Can we re-use the ISRC on the item for which it was originally intended?

Once set up, an ISRC must not be re-used under any circumstances, more detailed information is available in the ISRC Handbook - Section 4.1.3

Can ISRCs be applied to promotional material?

Yes, ISRCs can be applied to promotional material such as 30-second clips and hidden tracks particularly if at any time in the future the asset may be separately exploited- this does not necessarily imply monetary value. More detailed information is available in the ISRC Handbook, please see Section 4.1.2 & Section 4.9.3

How are Classical recordings identified using an ISRC?

In classical music, the performers often vary from movement to movement (consider for example Handel's Messiah) and increasingly the individual movements are being broadcast separately. Because the rights often vary from movement to movement, it is recommended that separate ISRCs be allocated to each part (e.g. track) of a composite recording as well as an overall ISRC to the recording as a whole. More detailed information is available in the ISRC Handbook - Section 4.9.11.

Other formats and info

Unless you're having your pressing plant upload the ISRC codes, we'll input them during the final stage of mastering. Our system will allow an ISRC to be associated with each track. Contact us regarding point of sale codes such as EAN/UPC.

The process for Mini-Disc is very similar to that for Compact Disc. If you're making DVDs, the ISRC is contained in the packet headers of an audio stream and can be included by the authoring systems of your DVD production engineers. DVD-Video has a similar structure to DVD-Audio and the ISRC can be added by authoring systems. Contact us regarding SACDs. VHS Music Video and other analogue tape formats have no clear place to carry ISRC information. Where music videos are provided to broadcasters, it is recommended that they should carry an ISRC number on the time clock before the video and documentation accompanying the video.

Most formats for electronically distributed music allow the inclusion of an ISRC, which can be inserted by authoring software other than our mastering system. Where electronically distributed formats include several tracks, the ISRC of each track should be associated with it in the metadata of the file. The MP3 format does allow rights management information like ISRC to be included however it is rarely used. What is used is the ID3 system of tags, which is not part of the international standard, but does enable ISRC to be encoded. It is therefore recommended that an ISRC be encoded into an ID3 tag.

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