What is the ISRC?

The ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is the international identification system for sound recordings and music video recordings. Each ISRC is a unique and permanent identifier for a specific recording which can be permanently encoded into a product as its digital fingerprint. Encoded ISRC provide the means to automatically identify recordings for royalty payments.

The ISRC system is the key to royalty collection for recordings in the digital information age. ISRC is a unique, reliable, international identification system. ISRC provides a unique tool for the purpose of rights administration. ISRC is a useful identification tool in the electronic distribution of music. ISRC coding is compatible with standards developed in the field of consumer electronics and is readable by hardware already used in the recording industry.

ISRC is cost effective - it can be put into operation without requiring special investment in equipment or technologies. The ISRC consists of twelve characters representing country (2 characters), registrant (3 characters), year of reference (2 digits) and designation (5 digits). It is divided into four elements separated by hyphens and the letters ISRC should always precede an ISRC code.

The elements appear in the following order:

• Country Code: identifies the country of residence of the registrant, i.e. producer or owner of the recording at the time of ISRC allocation.

• Registrant Code: identifies the producer of the recording at the time the ISRC is allocated.

• Year of Reference: identifies the year in which the ISRC is allocated to the recording which will usually be the year in which the full mastering process for the recording is finalized.

• Designation Code: five digits assigned by the producer/owner.

The structure of the ISRC is shown in the following example (final code does not include hyphens):

ISRC CA - S23 - 02 - 00212
ISRC	CA	S23	02	00212
Code identifier	Country Code (2 characters) CA = Canada	Registrant Code (3 characters) S23 - Snake Music	Year of Reference (2 digits) 02 = 2002	Designation Code (5 digits)

Responsibility and procedures to be observed by producers:

• The ISRC should be included in all relevant documentation concerning a recording.

• A producer must ensure that a competent person is responsible for the assignment of ISRC and the application of the pertinent regulations.

• A producer will be assigned a Registrant Code (see III.2.2) by the National ISRC Agency.

• A producer is responsible for assigning the Designation Code (see III.2.4).

• A producer must keep a register of all ISRCs which that have been assigned.

For additional information, please visit www.ifpi.org/isrc