The following questions are answered in this article. Click on the question to skip to the appropriate section:
What is an ISRC?
ISRC stands for International Standard Recording Code. It is a unique, 12-character digital fingerprint for identifying specific sound recordings. The ISRC is used for tracking plays, sales, and royalties across various platforms and services.
Once an ISRC code has been assigned to a recording, it belongs to the recording not to the person or service who assigned it. As a result, ISRCs remain valid indefinitely and can be reused when including a recording in new releases and with different distributors.
An ISRC is a vital tool for ensuring artists receive their royalties by linking streams and usage to the right creators. Every distinct recording needs its own code, which means that any new version of a recording - remixes, remasters, entirely new recordings, or even a music video, etc - will require a new ISRC.
How do I get an ISRC?
At MusicHub we provide ISRCs free of charge. As soon as you submit a release, new ISRC codes will automatically be created and assigned to any tracks that were indicated not to already have one. These ISRCs can then be found within the release details, or in the track details of the individual tracks in your Trackboard.
Can I use my own ISRCs?
Yes! If you already have an ISRC assigned to a track you should definitely use it. Using existing ISRCs is an essential step in making sure that the streaming counts from your existing release are copied over to the new version. The synchronisation of these old and new release versions is done through ISRCs.
You can enter an existing ISRCs in the track details. Simply indicate that you have an ISRC for the track, and enter the code:
My track already has an ISRC but I don't know what it is?
If you don't know what the original ISRC is, you can search for them on these sites:
Alternatively, you can contact the company or individual who originally published the release, or issued the ISRC
I've submitted my release but the ISRCs is the release/track details are incorrect?
ISRCs cannot be updated after a release has been submitted, so depending on the status of your release you will have these two options:
If your release is still in review:
If your release is still in review, it might be possible to edit your release.
Contact customer support
If your release has not yet been imported into the processing queue, we can send it back to you
Because an ISRC cannot be edit after a release has been submitting, you will need to delete the track in question, upload the audio file again, and enter the correct ISRC in the track details.
Resubmit your release with the correct information
If your release has been imported into the processing queue, or is already Approved or Live on the streaming platforms:
In this case the only option is to delete the release and create it again.
Note: When deleting a release, only the release is deleted - the tracks will remain in your Trackboard and can be reused.
Contact customer support
Request that the release is deleted
Create a new release.
When adding tracks to the release, add any the tracks with the correct ISRCs directly from your Trackboard by clicking here in the release setup:
Upload the audio files for track(s) that require the corrected ISRCs directly to the release.
Complete the release setup and submit your release.
I am trying to enter my ISRC but I am being shown an error message?
An ISRC can only be entered once into the MusicHub system, so seeing an error message is most likely because you have already used this ISRC for another reversion of the same track.
Go to your Trackboard and search for the ISRC. If you find the instance of the track that has already been assigned the ISRC you can either at that version to the release you are creating, or delete it (as long as it has not already part of release that is live on the streaming platforms).
If you not find a track that has already been assigned the ISRC, contact Customer Support for assistance.
You can find a more detailed explanation of this solution in this article.
Can I get my ISRCs before submitting my release?
While it is not possible to obtain ISRCs without submitting a release, there is a workaround for such a situation:
Create and submit your release.
Contact Customer Support immediately after submitting your release and ask us to send the release back to you.
The ISRCs will now have been assigned to the tracks, and will be available in the release details, and in the track details in your Track board.
When you are ready, resubmit your release. The assigned ISRCs will remain the same.
What to do when you need ISRCs for mastering
If you follow the above steps, the ISRCs will have been assigned but, as the audio files will yet not have been imported into the processing queue, the audio files can still be changed. So if you need the ISRCs for the mastering process, follow these steps:
Create and submit your release using the unmastered audio files
Contact Customer Support immediately after submitting your release and ask us to send the release back to you.
Find the ISRCs in the release or track details and send them to your mastering engineer.
Once you have received the mastered audio files, exchange them with the unmastered versions in the release tracklist
When you are ready, resubmit your release. The assigned ISRCs will remain the same even though you have update the audio files.