International Standard Recording Code

The International Standard Recording Code (ISRC), defined by ISO 3901, is an international standard code for uniquely identifying sound recordings and music video recordings. IFPI has been appointed by ISO as registration authority for this standard. The ISO technical committee 46, subcommittee 9 (TC 46/SC 9) is responsible for the standard. Note that an ISRC code identifies a particular recording, not the song itself. Therefore, different recordings, edits, and remixes of the same song will each have their own ISRC code. Songs are identified by analogous ISWC codes.

ISRC registrant codes are allocated by national ISRC agencies to both corporations and individuals.^[1] The usual practice is to do this free of charge, but national agencies may make a reasonable charge to cover their costs.^[2]

Format

ISRC codes are always 12 characters long, in the form "CC-XXX-YY-NNNNN" (The hyphens are not part of the ISRC code itself, but codes are often presented that way in print to make them easier to read.) The four parts are as follows:

• "CC" is the appropriate for the registrant two-character ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code
• "XXX" is a three character alphanumeric registrant code, uniquely identifying the organisation which registered the code. Typically, the appropriate regulating body in each country will issue a three letter code to each record label. For example, the regulating body for ISRCs in the UK is Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL).
• "YY" is the last two digits of the year of registration (NB not necessarily the date the recording was made)
• "NNNNN" is a unique 5-digit number identifying the particular sound recording.

An example, a recording of the song "Enquanto Houver Sol" by the Brazilian group Titãs has been allocated the ISRC code BR-BMG-03-00729:

• BR for Brazil
• BMG for BMG
• 03 for 2003
• 00729 is the unique id identifying this particular recording

Another example: USPR37300012 - a recording of the song "Love's Theme" by the Love Unlimited Orchestra.

• US-PR3-73/00012

• US for United States
• PR3 for the organization
• 73 for 1973
• 00012 is the unique id identifying this particular recording

The Red Book CD digital audio standard enables the encoding of ISRCs onto CDs.

See also

• Global Release Identifier (GRid), a unique identifier for musical releases
• International Standard Musical Work Code (ISWC), a unique identifier for musical works such as songs
• International Standard Book Number (ISBN), a similar unique identifier for books

References

1. ^ Resources - ISRC - Handbook (incorporating the ISRC Practical Guide) s321
2. ^ Resources - ISRC - Handbook (incorporating the ISRC Practical Guide) s238

External links

• ISO 3901:2001
• The International Standard Recording Code at Recording Industry Association of America's Website.
• ISRC registration authority