ISRC codes: what they are, where to find yours and how to get one

Distributors regularly receive questions about using an ISRC to protect a track from theft. An ISRC is a technical identifier for recording and streaming systems, rather than a legal document proving that a track is yours. Someone recording your melody under their own name would have a separate ISRC for that recording. The code system itself does not determine whether they have infringed your rights.

Here is what an ISRC actually does.

ISRC stands for International Standard Recording Code. It identifies a specific sound recording, rather like a unique inventory number. Its purpose is to distinguish that recording from millions of others, rather than identify who wrote the song.

Major platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and Russia’s Yandex Music require an ISRC when accepting a track.

The code has 12 characters arranged in consecutive blocks. Hyphens in examples are only for readability and are not part of the code:

• The first five characters: a registrant prefix assigned by an ISRC agency. The first two letters historically resemble a country code, but do not describe the nationality of the artist or music.
• Two year digits: the last two digits of the year the ISRC was assigned, which is not necessarily the recording or release year.
• A five-digit recording number: a designation within that registrant’s assignments for the year.

For example: RU-CRE-26-00123.

• Counting streams. Platforms identify recordings by ISRC rather than track title. Titles can change or be shared by several tracks.
• Allocating royalties. The code links usage to a recording and its rights holder so the platform knows where the earnings belong.
• Tracking broadcasts. Collecting societies use the code when tracking radio and television plays.
• Distinguishing versions. Live versions, remixes and substantially changed edits receive new ISRCs. A file-format or bitrate change does not require a new code. A remaster is assessed according to whether it introduces a substantial creative change.

There are two routes. A rights holder with a catalog can obtain a prefix through an authorized ISRC agency and maintain its own assignment register. The terms, costs and responsible agency vary by territory and can change, so check the International ISRC Registration Authority’s current directory.

For most artists, the simpler route is through a distributor. When you deliver through creator, the distribution partner can assign an ISRC to each track if you have not supplied an existing code. The code appears during release processing; timing and availability depend on the partner and platform requirements.

After release, the code appears beside each track in your distributor’s dashboard. It can also be embedded in an audio file’s metadata and viewed in a tag editor such as foobar2000. Spotify for Artists displays ISRC information in the individual track’s statistics.

An ISRC identifies a particular master recording, rather than the underlying composition. A song can have ten ISRCs if it has been recorded ten different ways, such as covers, remixes and live performances, while still being one composition. Rights in that composition are managed through a separate system linked to the composer and lyricist. An ISRC answers, “Which recording is this?” rather than, “Who wrote the song?”

This distinction explains the misconception at the start of the article. A recording’s unique code may look like a way to protect the song itself, but those are separate matters. The difference is especially important for covers and samples, where rights in the underlying composition matter as well as the ISRC assigned to your recording.