ISRC code: what it is, how to find yours and when you need a new one

What to do, in order

1. 1

   Check your distributor first

   Open the release in your distributor's dashboard and look at the track details. This is the most reliable place to find the code for your own music, because it is the code that was delivered to the stores.

2. 2

   Search a public database

   If you no longer have access to that account, search by artist and title at isrcsearch.ifpi.org or isrc.soundexchange.com. Check the version and length of any match, because a song can have several recordings with different codes. A code you know exists may also be missing from a search.

3. 3

   Save the code with the release

   Keep a simple list of every release with its title, UPC, each track's ISRC, the release date and your distributor. If you ever need to restore or move a release, these are the first details anyone will ask for.

4. 4

   Reuse it whenever the recording is the same

   If you upload the same recording again, for example at a new distributor, enter the ISRC it already has. Only let a distributor create a new code for a recording that does not have one yet.

What the 12 characters mean

An ISRC is often written with dashes, such as US-ABC-26-00001, though the dashes are not part of the code. It has three parts.

• Prefix code, 5 characters: two letters and three letters or numbers, given to whoever registers the recording. It does not prove who owns the song.
• Year of reference, 2 digits: the year the code was assigned, not the year the song was recorded.
• Designation code, 5 digits: the number that sets this recording apart from others under the same prefix and year.

ISRC, UPC and ISWC are different codes

These three are easy to mix up, and forms often ask for more than one.

• ISRC identifies one recording. Each track on an album has its own.
• UPC identifies the release, meaning the whole single, EP or album. One release has one UPC.
• ISWC identifies the underlying song as a composition, separate from any recording of it.

When a recording needs a new ISRC

The rule is one recording, one code. A code is permanent, and a recording should never have two of them, and two recordings should never share one.

• Same audio on a single and later on an album: keep the same ISRC, even though the UPC is different.
• Same audio at a new distributor: keep the same ISRC. It stays with the recording when ownership, licensing or distribution changes.
• A remix, a re-recording, a live version or another edit: this is a different recording, so it gets its own ISRC.

Who assigns your ISRC

If you release through a distributor, it normally assigns ISRCs when you upload, using its own prefix. That is fine, and the codes still stay with your recordings if you leave. Note them down anyway, because you could lose access to that dashboard later.

You can also assign codes yourself. In the US, rights owners can apply for their own prefix through the US ISRC agency at usisrc.org. Other countries have their own agencies. Many independent artists never need to do this.

Why it matters if you switch distributors

Stores use the ISRC to recognise a recording. Uploading the same song at a new distributor with a new code can make it look like a different recording, which is how a release can end up with split play counts or a duplicate. Use the same audio, metadata, UPC and ISRCs, wait until the new upload is live everywhere, and only then ask the old distributor to take its copy down.

How Move Guard checks a distributor switch

How Traxure helps

If you switch distributors, Move Guard keeps your UPC and ISRCs together and checks the new upload is live everywhere before the old one comes down. After that, Traxure checks your releases on Spotify and eleven other platforms every day. If one goes missing on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Deezer, TIDAL, SoundCloud or Pandora, you get an alert with a note ready to send your distributor. Every plan starts with a seven-day free trial.

Questions artists ask