An ISRC, or International Standard Recording Code, is a unique identifier for each individual sound recording or music video, kind of like a digital barcode for your track. If you are releasing music properly, every track you put out should have one, whether it comes from your distributor or from your own ISRC allocation.
What is an ISRC?
An ISRC is a 12‑character code that permanently identifies a specific recording, not the song as a composition. That means the album version, radio edit, live recording, and remix of the same song should all have different ISRCs.
The standard is defined by ISO 3901 and used worldwide by labels, distributors, collection societies, streaming services, and broadcasters to track usage and royalties accurately. Once a code is assigned to a recording, it stays with that recording for life, even if you change distributors or labels.
Why ISRCs matter for artists
ISRCs sit quietly in the background, but they are central to how money and data flow around your music. When your track is streamed, sold, broadcast, or used in a video, that activity can be tracked and reported using the ISRC, which helps ensure your royalties are correctly allocated.
They also help avoid confusion when different recordings share similar titles or when multiple versions exist, which is very common in dance, hip hop, and live-focused genres. For independent artists, getting ISRCs right is one of the simplest ways to look professional and protect long‑term earnings.
How an ISRC code is structured
Every ISRC has four parts that always follow the same pattern: CC-XXX-YY-NNNNN. In plain language, these mean:
Country code: two letters showing the country of the ISRC issuer, like
GBorUS, or a special prefix such asQMfor certain US allocations.Registrant code: three characters that identify the label, distributor, or company that assigns the code.
Year of reference: the last two digits of the year the ISRC was assigned to that recording, which is not always the year the track was recorded.
Designation code: a five‑digit number that is unique to that recording for that year within that registrant’s system.
You do not need to build these yourself when you work with a modern distributor, but understanding the structure helps when you are checking metadata or moving catalogues between services.
ISRC vs song, album and UPC codes
A common point of confusion is how ISRCs relate to other identifiers like song copyrights or UPCs. The ISRC always identifies a specific sound recording or music video, while a composition (the underlying song) is tracked separately by publishing identifiers, and releases such as albums or singles are tracked using UPC or EAN barcodes.
So one song might have several ISRCs if you have multiple recordings, but the same release will group those recordings together under one UPC. When your metadata is set up cleanly, all these codes work together to keep your streaming stats, payouts, and catalogue organised across platforms.
How you get ISRCs in practice
There are two main routes to getting ISRCs as an artist: applying to a national ISRC agency for your own registrant code, or letting your distributor assign them for you. Applying directly is more common for labels and larger operations that want full control over code assignment across many releases.
If you are an independent artist, the simplest route is usually through distribution. Kinjari lets you provide your own ISRCs when you already have them, or leave the field blank and get free codes assigned to each track as part of the upload flow. That way, every track you distribute to Spotify, Apple Music, and 100+ platforms already has compliant identification built in.
ISRCs and music distribution
Modern digital platforms rely on ISRCs to ingest, display, and pay for your recordings correctly. Streaming services, download stores, and performance rights organisations use the code to link plays, sales, and broadcasts back to the right track in their databases, which is especially helpful when artists share names or when titles overlap.
If you ever switch distributors, keeping the same ISRCs for existing recordings helps preserve your play counts, playlist placements, and reporting continuity, because DSPs treat that code as the “identity” of the recording. Using multiple ISRCs for the same audio on the same platform can create messy duplicates and can even complicate royalty data.
Best practices for managing your ISRCs
Treat your ISRCs like core business data, not an afterthought. Keep a simple spreadsheet or catalogue that lists each track title, version, release date, primary artist, and its ISRC so you can quickly share it with collaborators, labels, and collection societies.
You should also:
Use a different ISRC for each distinct audio recording or edit, including radio edits, remasters, and live recordings.
Avoid reusing old ISRCs for new recordings, even if the title is the same.
Make sure the ISRC in your distributor dashboard matches what performance and neighbouring rights organisations have on file for your recordings.
Good housekeeping now saves you a lot of admin later when you are chasing statements, sync opportunities, or catalogue sales.
How Kinjari handles ISRCs
At Kinjari, you can choose to bring your own ISRCs or let us handle them for you as part of your regular uploads. If you leave the ISRC field blank when you add a track, we automatically generate a valid code at no extra cost, so you never have to delay a release because you are waiting for identifiers.
This is all part of the same membership that gives you worldwide music distribution, a "link in bio" service built for musicians, and more all-in for $3 per month, so you are not paying separately for basic essentials like ISRCs. That keeps your admin light and lets you focus on the creative work while still keeping everything structured in a way that DSPs, rights organisations, and Google can understand.
ISRCs and SEO for your music brand
You might not think of ISRCs as an SEO topic, but they quietly support your wider online footprint. Clean, consistent identifiers make it easier for platforms and partners to tie your recordings, artist pages, and credits together, which helps search engines see a clear picture of your catalogue across different sites.
When you combine accurate ISRC data with a strong artist website, smart internal links, and tools like Kinjari biolinks, you give fans and algorithms a consistent way to “recognise” your tracks wherever they appear online. That is the foundation for long‑term discoverability: not just going viral once, but building a catalogue that is easy to find, track, and pay.
