What Is an ISRC Code and Do You Need to Get One Yourself?
The "ISRC" box on a distribution form is asking for the international ID number of the recording you are about to upload. Short for International Standard Recording Code, it is 12 characters long and identifies a specific recording of a song, not the song itself. If you are an independent artist, you usually don't apply for one yourself: if your distributor is authorised to issue codes, it gives you one.
Everything else on the form is familiar: track title, artist name, genre, artwork. ISRC is new, and most people uploading a first single stop right at that box. The question I get is always the same: "Was I supposed to get this from somewhere beforehand?" Usually not. But knowing where the code comes from and when it changes helps later, when you switch distributors or release a live version.
What do the 12 characters tell you?
The code has three parts. The official ISRC Handbook uses this made-up example: AA-6Q7-20-00047.
| Part | In the example | Length | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prefix | AA-6Q7 | 5 characters (2 letters + 3 letters or digits) | The part assigned to whoever issues the code. The first two letters used to show the country, but newer allocations drop that link. |
| Year of reference | 20 | 2 digits | The year the code was assigned |
| Designation code | 00047 | 5 digits | The number the issuer gives that recording |
Two details trip people up. First, the year is when the code was assigned, not when the track was recorded. Upload something you recorded years ago and you will see this year's digits in the code. Second, the prefix does not show who owns the recording today. It shows who issued the code, and that is all. Even if the recording later moves to another company, the code stays, because it is assigned to the recording once and stays with it.
Who issues ISRC codes?
Every country has a national ISRC agency. In Turkey it is MÜ-YAP. MÜ-YAP's ISRC application page (in Turkish) expects applications from companies, and the petition asks for a trade registry record, tax certificate, signature circular and a document showing you are a music producer. Some musicians head to that page thinking "getting the code myself will be safer" and find company paperwork waiting for them. Whether an artist without a company can apply directly is not spelled out, so if that is you, ask MÜ-YAP. Outside Turkey, your own country's agency sets its own process.
According to the Handbook, an ISRC can be assigned by the owner of the recording, an exclusive licensee, or an authorised ISRC Manager. An exclusive licensee is a party that has taken the sole right to use the recording from its owner, such as a label licensing it from you. ISRC Managers are usually digital distributors and sometimes studios. To take on that role they have to be authorised by the national agency or by IFPI, the international body that runs the system. That is why, for most independent artists, the practical route is the code your distributor provides.
Is the code from your distributor good enough?
A code is the same standard whichever authorised party issues it. What really matters is that each recording gets exactly one. The Handbook is clear on two rules: a party that takes a recording for distribution should use the code the owner assigned instead of issuing its own, and a recording that already has a code should never be given a new one.
This matters most when you change distributors. Enter the existing code when you upload to the new service and the recording keeps the same identity. Leave the box empty and take a fresh code, and the same recording can end up with two IDs. If that happens, talk to your distributor and your national agency.
Here is a situation I see a lot in bands: the first recordings went up from one member's personal account, a while later the band wants to move to a shared account, and nobody has a list of the old codes. Before moving anything, find and note down the code for every earlier upload. It is the only way to carry each recording over with the same identity.
Your recording income is tracked through this code; I walk through how that money reaches you in the piece on Spotify's pay per stream.
Does a new recording of the same song need a new code?
If the recording itself has changed, yes. A simple way to think about it: if what the listener hears has changed, it is a new recording. The Handbook says a new ISRC is needed for:
- a remix
- a live recording
- a different studio take of the same song
- an edit or an extended version
- a cover recording
- a music video
If the recording is reused unchanged on a compilation, or only the file format or resolution is different, the code stays the same. A remaster gets a new code only if there was creative input into the recording. When you record someone else's song, the recording gets its own ISRC, but the song still belongs to its writers, which is why cover song copyright is a separate question.
ISRC vs ISWC
The two acronyms look so alike that they get mixed up all the time. An ISRC identifies a recording. An ISWC identifies the work, meaning the lyrics and music. One song can have ten different recordings, each with its own ISRC, all linked to the same ISWC.
| ISRC | ISWC | |
|---|---|---|
| What it identifies | A sound recording or music video | The work (lyrics and music) |
| Format | 12 characters | "T" + 9 digits + 1 check digit, e.g. T-034.524.680-1 |
| Issued in Turkey by | National agency MÜ-YAP or an authorised ISRC Manager | MESAM and MSG |
| How an independent artist gets one | Usually through the distributor | Through their collecting society |
You can't apply for an ISWC as an individual; only authorised registration agencies issue them. The ISWC agency list names MESAM and MSG for Turkey, the two societies that collect songwriting royalties there. Some websites describe a different ISWC format; the one in the table is from the official ISWC site. If you write songs in Turkey and haven't picked a society yet, see how MESAM and MSG compare.
Does an ISRC protect your song?
No. The Handbook states that assigning an ISRC is not copyright registration and does not affect who owns the recording. It is an ID number that helps platforms and reports around the world recognise the recording correctly. Your distributor issuing the code does not make the recording theirs. It is easy to mix this up, because getting the code feels like the moment the recording becomes official. But like an ID number, it says which recording it is, not who it belongs to. Proving the song is yours is a separate matter.
What should you write down once you have the code?
The Handbook lists the minimum information that should be kept alongside each code. Once you have a few releases out, one spreadsheet saves digging around when you switch distributors or a platform asks:
- the recording title and any version title (live, acoustic, radio edit)
- main artist
- duration
- genre
- year of first release
Add the ISRC to each row and, if the song has been registered with a collecting society, its ISWC next to it, and the identity of both the recording and the song sit in the same place. In a band, keep that sheet somewhere everyone can open rather than on one person's laptop, so the information doesn't leave when they do.