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Ready to be sure your royalties can get
tracked properly and
have an easier time getting your music on iTunes?
Here's the scoop - you need to get ISRC codes for each song. No
problemo. There's no service
charge. (Unlike the UPC Barcode.)
It's
up to you to get them
to us to include on your master PRIOR to completion of
your
master. Don't wait, do it now. You can also have the CD
manufacturing plant put the codes on at the time of pressing.
Your CD manufacturing company should not
charge you an
arm and a leg for this but it's better if you just do it now.
The ISRC is the identification system for sound and music video
recordings. Each ISRC is a unique and permanent identifier for a
specific recording, to help identify recordings for royalty payments.
It's assigned PER TRACK, not per CD. Remember a recording is different
than a song - the code belongs to the specific recording of
each song. Remixes, singles or soundtracks that differ in any way from
a specific recording will need a separate code number. It's
easy! And did we mention, do it now?
How to get ISRC codes for
your music
• For information, click on
the
Official RIAA Page
Or,
click here for info that’s easier to understand
• To get your codes, click on "Download
Registrant Application in PDF and save it."
• Print out the form (you must
have Adobe Acrobat, Preview or other
PDF
viewer)
• Fill it in, sign it and fax it
to 202-775-7253 listed the bottom of the form page.
Click here for Parental Advisory infoFor more
information, see our new site at:
VestmanMastering.com
•
You will get your codes from the RIAA by email or fax.
It will be a simple
set of letters/numbers similar to this:
US JVM
or it may look like this
US-JVM-06-00001
The US is the country
- the 3 letters are "you"
- the 06 is the year,
and the number after that (00001) is the song designation number.
You only apply ONCE for a code in your country. Your code stays
with you forever! You as an artist, record company, production
entity, etc. keep your code (the US-JVM in the above example) and
simply change the year
identifier each new year. Then you just pick how you want to
continue the sequence of designation
numbers for any songs under your control. If you released 32
songs in 2006, you can start the next year with the designation number
at 00033 or 00001 if you wish.
NOTE!
• This is really easy,
but you
are
responsible to record, store and maintain written or filed records of
the code(s) that the RIAA gives you!
• You are responsible
to know which
songs/pieces of music you assign your individual codes to, as well as
the sequence on any album or song collection you release!
• File or keep
your codes in a secure place in case you ever need to refer back
to
them (for instance if a digital download company or other person
requests your information).
Remember - do it now!
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Here's the homepage for the International Standard Recording Code and you
can read the whole handbook,
or skim the highlights that follow...
Q) Does our company have to be a
member of
the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) or my
national music industry trade association in order to be eligible to
assign ISRCs to our recordings?
No. The ISRC System is constructed so that any entity
creating sound or music video recordings can issue ISRCs regardless of
their membership of, or standing with, industry associations and other
bodies.
What's in the actual code?
An ISRC is made up of four elements:
* ISO Country, e.g. GB for the UK, or US for the USA, DE for Germany,
etc
* Registrant Code, a three alpha-numeric unique reference
* Year of Reference, the last two digits of the current year, e.g. '05'
for 2005
* Designation Code, a five digit unique number, e.g. '00013'
The ISO Country Code and the Registrant Code are issued by the National
Agencies or by the International ISRC Agency; the rest of the
identifier is then allocated by the entity wishing to identify their
sound or music video recordings.
Are the hyphens included when encoding an
ISRC onto a CD?
No. The hyphens are only used when the ISRC Code is visually presented.
Check out Section
3.5.1. More detailed information about ISRC implementation in
software can be found in the ISRC Handbook, Section
4.10
Our company has just acquired the rights to
a recording that already has an ISRC. Do we have to apply for a new
ISRC for this recording?
No. The ISRC remains the same, regardless of changed ownership. The
first owner of the rights to a recording normally assigns an ISRC. Once
assigned that ISRC identifies the recording throughout its life.
Changes in ownership do not affect the ISRC. However if changes are
made to the recording that involve new artistic input and these affect
the rights associated with that recording, and it is re-issued, the new
owner must assign a new ISRC, using their Registrant Code.
What sorts of changes to an existing
recording that already has an ISRC require a new ISRC?
These are some of the modifications to a recording that would require
the allocation of a new ISRC:
* Restoration of historical recordings
* Changes in playing time
* Remixes/edits
* Compilations
More detailed information can be found in the ISRC Handbook Section
4.9
Our company uses an in-house code for
identifying our sound and music video recordings. We then use this in
the desgination code of the ISRC. Sometimes an in-house code may apply
to two versions of the same recording because we have remastered some
of our backstock for re-issue. Can we use the same ISRC for the new
remastered version?
No. Re-use of an ISRC that has already been allocated to another
recording or to another version of a recording is not permitted in
order to guarantee the unique and unambiguous identification provided
by an ISRC. A new ISRC should be assigned whenever a recording has been
re-issued in a revised or re-mastered form, even if both items have the
same in-house code.
If a recording has been issued without an
ISRC, can it be assigned one retroactively?
Yes. Recordings, which have not been assigned an ISRC, should be
provided with one before it is re-released. If the recording has
changed ownership, and did not have an ISRC originally and is being
released unchanged by the current rights holder, the Registrant Code
should be that of the current rights holder. The Year of Reference
should be the year of allocation of the new ISRC.
Our artist plans to issue both sound and
music video recordings. Do both types of product get an ISRC?
Yes. As well as using the ISRC to identify sound recordings and music
video recordings, ISRC may be used to identify associated audio and
audiovisual material, more detailed information can be found in the
ISRC Handbook - Section
4.4 and Section
4.5
Does the ISRC System distinguish between
sound and music video recordings released by the same company?
As national legislation often differentiates between the
administrations of rights in sound recordings and in music video
recordings (for instance as phonograms or videograms), it is
recommended that the procedures for assigning ISRC include a means of
distinguishing between audio and audiovisual formats in order to
facilitate rights management.
It is left to the discretion of the National ISRC Agencies to decide
the appropriate method of administering this distinction, more detailed
information is available in the ISRC Handbook - Section
3.6
Which part of our company should be
responsible for issuing ISRCs to our releases?
The head honcho... the record company.... the main dude or dudette...
whoever's in charge, but ultimately it's up to YOU to be sure it gets
done....! Be sure you get it right. It is important that ISRCs are
actually encoded into appropriate digital products. And since ISRCs are
normally allocated at the point prior to the preparation of the final
production Pre-Master it is recommended that the responsibility for
assigning ISRCs is linked to the area responsible for this process.
What happens when an ISRC is assigned to
the wrong item? How can the problem be solved? Can we re-use the ISRC
on the item for which it was originally intended?
Once set up, an ISRC must not be re-used under any circumstances, more
detailed information is available in the ISRC Handbook - Section
4.1.3
Can ISRCs be applied to promotional
material?
Yes, ISRCs can be applied to promotional material such as 30-second
clips and hidden tracks particularly if at any time in the future the
asset may be separately exploited- this does not necessarily imply
monetary value. More detailed information is available in the ISRC
Handbook, please see Section
4.1.2 & Section
4.9.3
How are Classical recordings identified
using an ISRC?
In classical music, the performers often vary from movement to movement
(consider for example Handel's Messiah) and increasingly the individual
movements are being broadcast separately. Because the rights often vary
from movement to movement, it is recommended that separate ISRCs be
allocated to each part (e.g. track) of a composite recording as well as
an overall ISRC to the recording as a whole. More detailed information
is available in the ISRC Handbook - Section
4.9.11.
Other formats and info
Unless you're having your pressing plant upload the ISRC codes, we'll
input them during the final stage of mastering. Our system will allow
an ISRC to be associated with each track. Contact us regarding point of
sale codes such as EAN/UPC.
The process for Mini-Disc is very similar to that for Compact Disc. If
you're making DVDs, the ISRC is contained in the packet headers of an
audio stream and can be included by the authoring systems of your DVD
production engineers. DVD-Video has a similar structure to DVD-Audio
and the ISRC can be added by authoring systems. Contact us regarding
SACDs. VHS Music Video and other analogue tape formats have no clear
place to carry ISRC information. Where music videos are provided to
broadcasters, it is recommended that they should carry an ISRC number
on the time clock before the video and documentation accompanying the
video.
Most formats for electronically distributed music allow the inclusion
of an ISRC, which can be inserted by authoring software other than our
mastering system. Where electronically distributed formats include
several tracks, the ISRC of each track should be associated with it in
the metadata of the file. The MP3 format does allow rights management
information like ISRC to be included however it is rarely used. What is
used is the ID3 system of tags, which is not part of the international
standard, but does enable ISRC to be encoded. It is therefore
recommended that an ISRC be encoded into an ID3 tag.
Thank you to the International Standard Recording Code dudes and
dudettes for all that info!
Date created: 01/07/05 - updated
09/17/06
John
Vestman is committed to the
protection of all children everywhere.
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