Frequently Asked Questions

You can get ISRCs in two main ways:

• Through your digital distributor (like DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby)
• Or directly from your country's ISRC agency if you want to register your own codes

Always include your ISRC when you upload music. It ensures proper royalty tracking, protects against unauthorized use, and keeps your catalog professionally organized.

An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a unique 12-character ID that acts like a digital fingerprint for your music. Every version of a song — original, remix, live — gets its own ISRC.

• Track Your Music: ISRCs help identify and track plays across streaming, downloads, and radio.
• Get Paid: They make sure you receive royalties for each stream, sale, or sync.
• Go Global: ISRCs are required by distributors and DSPs (like Spotify and Apple Music).
• Stay Organized: They keep your releases properly tagged in databases worldwide.

An ISRC code has 12 characters, structured into four parts:

Example: US-ABC-24-12345

• US (2 chars) - Country Code – where the registrant is based (e.g., US = United States)
• ABC (3 chars) - Registrant Code – assigned to the label, artist, or distributor
• 24 (2 chars) - Year – the last two digits of the year the ISRC was assigned (e.g., 2024)
• 12345 (5 chars) - Track ID – a unique number for this recording, assigned by the registrant

• Two recordings of the same song (e.g., a remix and a live version) will each have a different ISRC.
• The year refers to when the code was assigned, not necessarily the recording or release date.
• The Registrant Code stays the same for all recordings from that label or artist.

ISRC codes are essential, but when mismanaged, they can lead to lost royalties, metadata chaos, and reporting issues. Here are some common problems:

1. Duplicate or Incorrect ISRCs

• Same ISRC used across multiple versions (remix, live, clean)
• Errors when reusing old codes for new masters or reissues

2. Distributor Swaps = Multiple ISRC Prefixes

• Switching distributors can assign new registrant codes
• This fragments catalogs and complicates royalty tracking

3. Mismatched Royalties

• ISRCs linked to the wrong composition (ISWC)
• Generic titles lead to mix-ups in performance data and payouts

4. Incomplete or Inaccurate Metadata

• Misspelled artist names or missing composer info causes reporting failures
• Metadata inconsistencies can block your music from earning properly

5. Legacy Catalog Confusion

• Reissues, remasters, or compilation albums may get assigned conflicting codes
• PROs and platforms struggle to cluster these variations correctly

• Always assign a unique ISRC per version of a recording
• Use consistent metadata (artist names, titles, composers)
• Keep track of your ISRCs, even when switching distributors
• Double-check metadata before uploading to DSPs
• Embed ISRCs into your audio files and keep records