# International Standard Name Identifier

Also known as: ISNI

> An International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI) is a 16-character identifier, defined by ISO 27729 and published in 2012, for the public identity of a person or organization involved in creative works — a songwriter, a performer, a pseudonym or a label. It tells two people with the same name apart, and ties one person's several names together.

Source: https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/isni · Category: Identifiers · Last reviewed: 2026-10-02 · License: CC BY 4.0

## Key facts

- **Standard:** ISO 27729 (published 2012)
- **Length:** 16 characters; the last may be X
- **Identifies:** Public identities of people and organizations
- **Display form:** Four groups of four, e.g. 0000 0001 2345 6789
- **Registry:** [ISNI International Agency](https://isni.org/)

## What an ISNI identifies

An ISNI identifies a **public identity** rather than a legal person. A songwriter who also records under a stage name can hold one ISNI per name, linked to one another; two unrelated artists who share a name hold two different ISNIs. The identifier is used across books, music, film and research, which is what makes it useful as a bridge between catalogs that otherwise share no keys.[1]

## Format

An ISNI is fifteen digits followed by a check character, which is a digit or the letter X. It is displayed in four groups of four (`0000 0001 2345 6789`) and resolved as sixteen unspaced characters, e.g. `https://isni.org/isni/0000000123456789`. Confusing the two forms is a common reason a published ISNI link fails to resolve.[1]

## Use in the music industry

Music metadata standards from [DDEX](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/ddex) carry ISNIs for contributors, and many registration agencies issue them to artists on request. Paired with the [ISRC](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/isrc) of each recording and the [ISWC](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/iswc) of each work, an ISNI lets a catalog say unambiguously *who* made *what*. Knowledge graphs also use it as an authority record: linking a person's profile to their ISNI is a stronger identity signal than any display name.

## In practice at SNVRKOTICS

The founder of SNVRKOTICS is identified by ISNI 0000 0005 2449 3943, and the company's structured data links the founder's Person node to that authority record rather than to any social profile.

## Questions

### Is an ISNI the same as an IPI number?

No. An IPI (Interested Parties Information) number is assigned within the collecting-society system to identify rights holders for royalty purposes; an ISNI is a cross-industry identifier for a public identity. Many writers have both.

### Can one person have more than one ISNI?

Yes, one per public identity. A writer who publishes under a real name and a pseudonym can have an ISNI for each, linked in the registry.

### Why does my ISNI link not work?

Most often because the spaces were left in. The URL form uses the sixteen characters with no spaces.

## References

1. ISNI International Agency. "ISNI — International Standard Name Identifier." https://isni.org/

## Related

- [International Standard Recording Code](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/isrc): The ISRC is a 12-character code, defined by ISO 3901, that identifies one specific sound recording or music video recording.
- [International Standard Musical Work Code](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/iswc): The ISWC is an ISO 15707 identifier for a musical work — the composition itself, independent of any recording of it.
- [DDEX](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/ddex): DDEX is the music industry's standards body for the data exchanged in the digital supply chain, best known for the ERN release-delivery format.

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Cite as: "International Standard Name Identifier." SNVRKOTICS Wiki, 2026-10-02. https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/isni