ISRC and UPC explained: the codes for recordings and releases

An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a twelve-character code that identifies one recording: one specific version of a track, or a music video. A UPC or EAN is the barcode number of a release as a product: a single, EP or album. An album with ten tracks therefore has ten ISRCs and one UPC. Streaming services need both. Apple Music, for example, requires a unique UPC, EAN or JAN for every product and an ISRC for every track.

The rule of thumb: the same recording keeps the same ISRC everywhere, whether it appears later on an album, on a compilation or through a different distributor. A new recording or a different version, such as a remix, a live version or a radio edit, gets a new ISRC. A new release gets a new UPC. Below you will find how the codes are built, who issues them, when you need a new one and where to find yours.

ISRC and UPC side by side

What is an ISRC?

The ISRC is an international standard (ISO 3901) for identifying recordings uniquely and permanently. IFPI, the international body representing the recording industry, runs the system as the international registration authority. An ISRC belongs to the recording itself, not to a file, a store or a release: the same recording carries the same code as a WAV file, as a stream and on a CD.

Stores, distributors and collecting societies for recordings use the ISRC to match use and income to the right recording. Apple, for instance, asks for the codes so that plays and purchases can be counted and tracked accurately. How income from recordings and compositions flows is covered in music royalties explained.

What an ISRC is not:

• Not a code for the composition. The song as written has its own code, the ISWC. Songwriters and publishers have IPI numbers. More on that in what does a music publisher do.
• Not a code for an artist or a product. The release as a product has the UPC or EAN.
• Not a copyright registration. Assigning an ISRC is not the same as registering copyright, and the code does not tell you who owns the recording today.

Note that a music video is a different recording from the audio, even if the sound is identical. It gets its own ISRC.

How an ISRC is built

An ISRC has twelve characters in three parts. IFPI's ISRC Handbook uses this made-up example: ISRC AA-6Q7-20-00047.

• The word ISRC and the hyphens are only there for readability. The code itself is the twelve characters AA6Q72000047.
• Originally the first two letters stood for the country of assignment and the next three characters for the registrant, the party assigning the codes. New prefixes are allocated as a single block of five characters, although some national agencies still issue prefixes that start with a country code.
• You cannot tell from an ISRC who owns the recording now or when it was recorded: the year is the year the code was assigned.
• An ISRC contains only capital letters and digits. Watch out for the letter O versus the digit 0, and the letter I versus the digit 1.

Who issues ISRCs?

IFPI is the international registration authority. In each country, a national ISRC agency allocates the prefixes: PPL in the UK, the RIAA in the US and Sena in the Netherlands, for example. IFPI keeps the list of ISRC agencies, and if your country has none, you can apply to IFPI directly.

Only the owner of the recording or a long-term exclusive licensee may assign an ISRC, or a party appointed for that purpose as an ISRC Manager. Distributors can take on that role and assign codes on your behalf. As an artist you have three routes:

1. Through your distributor. Many distributors assign an ISRC if you do not have one. At Crystal Distribution, a track without an ISRC is assigned one. If a recording already has an ISRC, use that one.
2. Yourself, with your own prefix. If you own the master, you can apply to your national agency for a prefix and create ISRCs yourself. You then keep track of which code belongs to which recording. In the Netherlands, for example, Sena provides producers with a code free of charge.
3. Through IFPI's online service. IFPI offers a paid service to assign an ISRC per recording. According to IFPI, that route, or working with an ISRC Manager, suits self-releasing artists more than running a prefix of their own.

If a distributor creates your codes, IFPI applies the same rules to them as to any other ISRC: they stay the same for the lifetime of the recording. The ISRC belongs to the recording, not to the distributor.

When do you need a new ISRC?

The principle in the ISRC Handbook: identical recordings share the same ISRC, and a recording changed by creative input gets a new one. The IFPI ISRC FAQ gives examples. Here is the overview:

Two cases need explaining.

Remasters. According to IFPI, a remaster is generally the same recording and keeps the same ISRC. Only when remastering involves new creative input does it need a new code. The Handbook lists processes that do not count as creative, including level changes, EQ or compression applied evenly across the whole recording, and technical processing such as noise reduction or a different sample rate, as long as the settings stay the same across the whole recording. A remaster made louder or cleaner with such even processing therefore keeps its ISRC.

Shortened or sped up. Cut sections from a track, such as a verse or chorus, and you need a new ISRC. If only the length changes without creative input, for example through a different speed or fade-out, the Handbook requires a new ISRC only when the difference in length is 10 seconds or more.

What is a UPC or EAN?

A UPC or EAN is a barcode number for a product. In the system run by GS1, the organisation behind barcodes, such a number is called a GTIN. According to GS1, the UPC is a 12-digit GTIN mostly used in North America, and the EAN a 13-digit GTIN mostly used in Europe and the rest of the world. The number is made up of a company prefix, an item reference and a check digit at the end.

In music, a UPC or EAN identifies a release: a single, an EP or an album. According to IFPI, each different product needs its own code. In its delivery requirements, Apple requires an individual UPC for every digital album and states that UPCs cannot be modified or used again. The same goes for an ISRC there: once you have delivered music with an ISRC, it cannot be edited.

When do you need a new UPC?

• A new release: a new UPC.
• An expanded version of an album, such as a deluxe edition with extra tracks: a different product, so its own UPC.
• Delivering the same release again, for example after switching distributor: keep the same UPC.

GS1 issues company prefixes, and in some countries individual codes, through its local member organisations, for a fee. Many distributors also provide a UPC if you do not have one; ask your distributor how it works with them.

Why you keep your codes when you switch

According to IFPI, an ISRC stays the same for the lifetime of a recording, even when ownership of the rights changes. A second ISRC for the same recording is not allowed under the standard. The same principle applies to a UPC: the same release keeps the same code.

This is more than a rule. The codes are how stores, distributors and collecting societies recognise a recording and a release. Deliver the same recording through a new distributor with a new ISRC, and it is no longer obvious to those parties that it is the same recording. With the same codes and the same metadata, that link stays clear.

At Crystal Distribution, existing ISRCs and UPCs are kept when you transfer your catalogue via Tools → Transfer in the portal. The order in which to take the steps is covered in switch music distributor.

Where to find your codes

• With your distributor. In your release overview or in an export of your catalogue. When you switch, ask for an export with every ISRC and UPC.
• In your own list. If you keep one as described above, everything is in one place.
• In the International ISRC Database. You can search it free of charge on the IFPI site. If a distributor assigned your codes, they will not necessarily be there: according to IFPI, a distributor may or may not enter the data.
• On physical products. The barcode on a CD or record is the code of that product, not necessarily that of your digital release.
• For questions about income. If you are missing income for a recording at Crystal Distribution in a period that has already been settled, report it with the ISRC and the period, so it can be compared with the original report. See royalties and royalty statements.

Releasing something soon? Get your codes ready, run through the release metadata checklist and see how distribution with Crystal Distribution works.