International Standard Recording Code
Encyclopedia
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. The usual practice is to do this free of charge, but national agencies may make a reasonable charge to cover their costs.
(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:
An example, a recording of the song
"Enquanto Houver Sol" by the Brazil
ian group Titãs
has been allocated the ISRC code BR-BMG-03-00729:
Another example: USPR37300012 - a recording of the song
"Love's Theme
" by the Love Unlimited Orchestra.
The Red Book
CD digital audio standard enables the encoding of ISRCs onto CDs.
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
as registration authority
Registration authority
A registration authority or maintenance agency is a body given the responsibility of maintaining lists of codes under international standards and issuing new codes to those wishing to register them...
for this standard. The ISO technical committee 46, subcommittee 9 (TC 46/SC 9)
TC 46/SC 9
ISO TC 46/SC 9 is the ninth subcommittee of ISO technical committee 46, and is responsible for identification and description of information resources.-ISO standards overseen:Note: All names are in the format of International Standard...
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
International Standard Musical Work Code
International Standard Musical Work Code is a unique identifier for musical works, similar to ISBN. It is adopted as international standard ISO 15707...
codes.
ISRC registrant codes are allocated by national ISRC agencies to both corporations and individuals. The usual practice is to do this free of charge, but national agencies may make a reasonable charge to cover their costs.
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-2ISO 3166-1 alpha-2ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are two-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , to represent countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest...
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 labelRecord labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. For example, the regulating body for ISRCs in the UK is Phonographic Performance LimitedPhonographic Performance LimitedPPL is the London-based United Kingdom music licensing company which undertakes collective rights management of recorded music and music videos for public performance, broadcast and new media use...
(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
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
"Enquanto Houver Sol" by the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian group Titãs
Titãs
Titãs are a rock band from São Paulo, Brazil. Their best-known line up is the one in the album Cabeça Dinossauro : Nando Reis , Branco Mello , Marcelo Fromer , Arnaldo Antunes , Tony Bellotto , Paulo Miklos , Charles Gavin and Sérgio Britto...
has been allocated the ISRC code BR-BMG-03-00729:
- BR for BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
- BMG for BMGBMGBertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
- 03 for 2003
- 00729 is the unique id identifying this particular recording
Another example: USPR37300012 - a recording of the song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
"Love's Theme
Love's Theme
"Love's Theme" is an instrumental piece recorded by Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra and released in 1973. It is one of the few instrumental and purely orchestral singles to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, in early 1974...
" by the Love Unlimited Orchestra.
- US-PR3-73/00012
- US for United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- PR3 for the organization
- 73 for 1973
- 00012 is the unique id identifying this particular recording
The Red Book
Red Book (audio CD standard)
Red Book is the standard for audio CDs . It is named after one of the Rainbow Books, a series of books that contain the technical specifications for all CD and CD-ROM formats.The first edition of the Red Book was released in 1980 by Philips and Sony; it was adopted by the Digital Audio Disc...
CD digital audio standard enables the encoding of ISRCs onto CDs.
See also
- Global Release Identifier (GRid)Global Release IdentifierThe Global Release Identifier is a system to identify releases of digital sound recordings for electronic distribution...
, a unique identifier for musical releases - International Standard Musical Work Code (ISWC)International Standard Musical Work CodeInternational Standard Musical Work Code is a unique identifier for musical works, similar to ISBN. It is adopted as international standard ISO 15707...
, a unique identifier for musical works such as songs - International Standard Book Number (ISBN)International Standard Book NumberThe International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering code created by Gordon Foster, Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin, for the booksellers and stationers W.H...
, a similar unique identifier for books
External links
- ISO 3901:2001
- The International Standard Recording Code at Recording Industry Association of America's Website.
- ISRC registration authority