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What this means

Every individual recording you have released carries a unique International Standard Recording Code — and you know what those codes are.

Why it matters

The ISRC is the fingerprint of a recording. Streaming platforms, SoundExchange, Content ID, radio monitoring, and chart reporting all use it to identify plays and attribute income. Without a consistent ISRC, plays of your recording may be untracked or attributed elsewhere.

Your risk

Distributors normally assign ISRCs automatically, so codes usually exist — the problem is that most artists have never recorded them. Pull the ISRC list from your distributor dashboard and confirm one unique code per recording, that re-releases reuse the original code, and that different versions (radio edit, remix, live) each have their own distinct code.

Industry standard

One ISRC per unique recording, permanently. A remix, live version, or edit is a different recording and gets a different ISRC. A remaster of the same recording generally keeps its original ISRC — a new code is only warranted if the remaster involves significant new creative work, not just a technical cleanup. A song re-released on a compilation keeps its original ISRC. Codes can be assigned by your distributor or issued directly by your national ISRC agency (in the U.S., the RIAA) if you want to control your own registrant prefix.

What to do

1. Export the ISRC list for your full catalog from your distributor.
2. Confirm every recording has exactly one code and no code is duplicated across different recordings.
3. Record all codes in your central registration log (see Q16).
4. Check that alternate versions have their own separate codes.
5. Supply ISRCs whenever you register with SoundExchange, The MLC, or Content ID.

Bottom line

Your recordings are not fully covered by ISRCs, or you do not have the codes on record. The ISRC is the unique identifier that streaming platforms, SoundExchange, YouTube Content ID, and radio monitoring services use to recognize your recording and route income to you — without it, plays can go untracked or be credited to the wrong party. Export the ISRC list from your distributor, confirm one unique code per recording (with separate codes for remixes, live versions, and edits — but keeping the same code on unchanged remasters and re-releases), and store the full list in your central registration record so it stays a single source of truth as your catalog grows.