ISRC Codes | MusicLibraryReport.com

Описание: ISRC Codes

What does it stand for?
International Standard Recording Code.

What is it and what does it do?
An ISRC is designated to uniquely identify a specific recording. By using this code a recording can be tracked for its digital sales and streaming income. So any site that sells your music as a digital download, or any of the streaming services you submit to are going to require an ISRC for each of your tracks.

Given that the ISRC is a unique identifier, there will be only one code per recording. Alternate versions and timing edits each get their own ISRC. “My Song”, “My Song Instrumental” and “My Song 30 Seconds” will all be assigned a different ISRC.

The ISRC format is as follows: XX-ABC-12-12345. The dashes aren’t required but they can be put in to make reading the code easier for us humans.

Using the example XX-ABC-12-12345:
XX is the country code. In the US it will be US, QM or QZ.
ABC is the identifier assigned by the National ISRC Agency to the entity (Registrant) issuing the code.
12 is the year the code was assigned to the recording.
12345 is the recordings designation code. This is created by the issuer.

ISRC’s work on an international level and are permanent to the recordings they are assigned to. They can be embedded in an electronic files metadata.

Where do you get it?
If you are using a distributor like CD Baby, DistroKid, Tunecore or the like, your tracks will be assigned ISRC’s as part of their distribution process. It’s all handled automatically, nothing for you to do specifically.

As a self-distributor you can get ISRC’s from authorized ISRC Managers like mastering studios. Here is the list of ISRC Managers appointed by the US ISRC Agency. Only these companies are approved to assign ISRCs on behalf of the owner of a recording https://www.usisrc.org/managers/index....

Another way is to become a Registrant yourself as a “Recording Rights Owner”. The cost is $95 and your Registrant Code is yours for life.

One thing to consider, there are cases where you could end up with multiple ISRC’s assigned to a single recording, which shouldn’t be. For example, it’s possible to upload your music non-exclusively to a company that makes it available for streaming in businesses, stores and restaurants. They assign it an ISRC when you upload it. Later you use a different distributor to get it on services like Spotify, Pandora and Apple Music, something the first company didn’t offer. The result is two ISRC’s for one recording. It will have to be changed at one or the other to remain consistent.

How does it help me get paid?
Your digital download sales and streaming activity will be tracked by ISRC’s. You will also need ISRC’s should you join SoundExchange, the collection society that collects and distributes digital performance royalties. Same with uploading your catalog information to Songdex, the database for “Music Reports”, a company that deals with music rights clearances for digital services. I also assume ISRC’s will be needed for the upcoming mechanical licensing collective database which goes into effect January1, 2021 as part of the Music Licensing Modernization Act (https://www.copyright.gov/music-moder....