# International Standard Recording Code

Also known as: ISRC

> An International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) is a 12-character identifier, defined by ISO 3901, assigned to a single sound recording or music video recording. It identifies the recording rather than the song: a remix, a live take or a re-recording gets its own ISRC, while the same recording keeps its code wherever and however often it is released.

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

## Key facts

- **Standard:** ISO 3901
- **Length:** 12 alphanumeric characters
- **Identifies:** A sound recording or music video recording
- **International agency:** [IFPI](https://isrc.ifpi.org/)
- **US agency:** [RIAA (US ISRC Agency)](https://www.usisrc.org/)
- **Composition counterpart:** [ISWC](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/iswc)

## Structure

An ISRC has four parts, usually written without separators in metadata and with hyphens when shown to people:

| Part | Length | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Country or agency prefix | 2 characters | Allocated to the national agency that issued the registrant code |
| Registrant code | 3 characters | Identifies the issuer — a label, a distributor or an artist |
| Year of reference | 2 digits | The year the code was assigned, not necessarily the year of recording |
| Designation code | 5 digits | A sequence number unique within that registrant and year |

The prefix records where the registrant code was issued; it does not say where the recording was made or who owns it.[1]

## Who assigns an ISRC

The International ISRC Registration Authority is IFPI, which appoints national agencies; in the United States that agency is operated by the RIAA.[1][2] An agency issues a **registrant code** to a label, a distributor or an independent artist, who then assigns the individual codes themselves. Most independent artists receive ISRCs from their distributor at upload, which means the distributor's registrant code is embedded in the recording's identifier for good.

An ISRC should be assigned once, before the first release, and travel with the recording to every store and every [royalty](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/music-royalties) statement afterwards.

## When a recording needs a new ISRC

The rule of thumb is that a new ISRC is needed whenever the audio changes. A remix, a radio edit, a live recording, an acoustic version, a re-recording and a remaster that alters the sound are all new recordings. The same recording placed on a single, an album and a compilation keeps one ISRC across all three.[1]

The release that contains the recordings carries a different identifier — a UPC or EAN barcode — so one album has one barcode and as many ISRCs as it has tracks.

## Why it matters for royalties

Streaming services, distributors and collecting bodies such as [SoundExchange](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/soundexchange) report usage by ISRC. A recording issued under two different codes splits its play counts and its earnings between two records that nothing links; a recording with no code cannot be matched to a statement at all. Matching every statement line back to a recording by ISRC is the basic operation of royalty accounting, which is why duplicate or missing codes are the most common cause of unattributed income.

## In practice at SNVRKOTICS

SNVRKOTICS validates every ISRC in the catalog against the ISO 3901 format, flags a code used on two recordings, and matches each line of an imported distributor statement back to its recording by ISRC.

## Questions

### Is an ISRC the same for a song and a recording?

No. An ISRC identifies one recording. The underlying song — the composition — is identified by an ISWC, and one song can have many recordings, each with its own ISRC.

### Does a remaster need a new ISRC?

If the remaster changes the audio, yes; it is treated as a new recording. A recording that is re-released unchanged keeps its original ISRC.

### Can I get ISRCs without a distributor?

Yes. An artist can apply to their national ISRC agency for a registrant code and assign codes themselves; in the United States that is the US ISRC Agency run by the RIAA.

### What does the year in an ISRC mean?

It is the year the code was assigned, not the year the recording was made or released.

## References

1. IFPI, International ISRC Registration Authority. "International Standard Recording Code (ISRC)." https://isrc.ifpi.org/
2. Recording Industry Association of America. "US ISRC Agency." https://www.usisrc.org/

## Related

- [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.
- [International Standard Name Identifier](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/isni): The ISNI is a 16-digit ISO 27729 identifier for the public identity of a person or organization that contributes to creative works.
- [Master recording](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/master-recording): A master recording is the original fixed recording of a performance, and the separate copyright that protects that recording.
- [Music royalties](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/music-royalties): Music royalties are payments to rights holders each time a song or recording is sold, streamed, performed, licensed or broadcast.
- [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 Recording Code." SNVRKOTICS Wiki, 2026-10-02. https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/isrc