CD Mastering Article - What is an ISRC Code?

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What is an
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Choosing a
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Choosing a
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	Article: What is an ISRC Code?: Download this article as a PDF here. "ISRC" stands for: International Standard Recording Code What are they? What do they look like?: Think of ISRC codes as a “barcode-per-track” or a "serial-number-per-track". ISRC codes are unique codes that allow the copyright owner (artist, band, label, etc...) the ability to track sales and public performances of individual songs. Furthermore, you will find that digital distributors (CD Baby, IODA, The Orchard, etc...) will not be able to distribute your music to digital music stores (iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody, etc...) without them. The ISRC format consists of 4 codes: 1) Country Code 2) Registrant Code 3) Year Of Reference Code 4) Designation Code Example: US-Z03-99-32476 How can I get them? ISRC codes can only be generated by an ISRC Agent, which are appointed by the IFPI/RIAA. You can apply to become an agent by filling-out the ISRC Application Form available at the IFPI website. Additionally, some mastering facilities (including Mike Wells Mastering), most labels, and most digital distributors (CD Baby, IODA, etc…) can generate the codes for you. Can Mike Wells Mastering generate ISRC codes for me if I'm an independent? Yes, just request them when booking your session. Where do I find them in my music?: ISRC codes, when encoded into a CD, appear in the table of contents (TOC) which is within the Lead-In portion of the CD where track markers, CD-Text, etc... are stored. Audio programs (Sequoia, etc.) and CD Diagnostics programs (Plextor Plextools, etc.) that can read CD TOC information can show you the ISRC codes contained within a CD. What about MP3 and other digital asset formats?: Digital music files (MP3, etc.) use a tagging format called ID3 (http://www.id3.org/) to label each files with information like Artist, Track Title, Album Art, etc... At this time, support for the ISRC code as a tag has not been standardized. However, many tagger applications either have an ISRC field you can populate (assuming you have ISRC codes that have been generated for your release), or have the ability to create a field and call it "ISRC". Within the digital distribution marketplace (IODA, The Orchard, etc.), each digital distributor tracks your release information (called "metadata") within their proprietary system. Hopefully we will see a standardized tag format for ISRC appear in the future as the industry continues to move exclusively into the digital realm. Who is the owner of the ISRC codes? Agents generate the codes; the “owner of the recording” owns the codes. If you are the owner of the recording (band, artist, label, etc…), then you are the owner of the codes even if another party (such as a mastering house or replication house) generates them for you. When should I apply the codes? It is best to apply the codes in the mastering stage, as the codes then become embedded in the masters TOC (Table of Contents), and are replicated with the product during manufacturing. This allows the codes to be picked-up when encoding into digital distribution assets such as MP3/AAC/etc… and guarantees the widest possible coverage of the codes as they map to the songs. Uniqueness in the marketplace: It is worth mentioning, that it is possible for codes to be re-generated by other parties. For example: You have a local band record with you, you send them to a mastering house that generates ISRC codes for the tracks and embeds them in the master. The band then replicates the product themselves and sets-up an account with a digital distributor (CD-Baby, etc…). It is now the bands responsibility to inform the digital distributor that their product already has ISRC codes, and these codes should be carried along per-track into the digital distributors’ model of encoding and submitting songs to digital retailers (iTunes, etc…), as the band is the “owner” of the codes, and per the specification, there should be only 1 code per-song (remixes and other special circumstances aside, see the ISRC Handbook for more details). Additional Information: ISRC Homepage at the RIAA:http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_resources/isrc.html ISRC FAQ:http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_resources/isrc_handbook.html ISRC Agent Application:http://76.74.24.142/F7901D48-88C3-3020-4EDD-641E60985ADB.doc ISRC Handbookhttp://www.ifpi.org/content/library/isrc_handbook_2003.pdf RIAA FAQ on ISRC:http://www.riaa.com/whatwedo.php?content_selector=whatwedo_is_r_c_codes This document is Copyright 2008, Mike Wells Mastering except where otherwise noted. This document may not be reproduced in any manner without the permission of the copyright owner. Last updated 02/2008.