Music Distribution ID & Metadata Guide

• ISRC and UPC/EAN are the core identifiers required for professional music distribution.
• ISRC identifies individual recordings; UPC/EAN identifies the commercial product (single, EP, album) as a whole. ⁴²³

2.1 What an ISRC is

• ISRC stands for International Standard Recording Code.
• It is a 12-character code that uniquely identifies a specific sound recording or music video, not the underlying composition. ⁵⁶⁴

2.2 ISRC structure

Format: CC-XXX-YY-NNNNN — hyphens are shown for readability but are not part of the code itself. ⁷¹⁵

2.3 When to assign ISRCs

• Every distinct recording gets its own ISRC: original mix, radio edit, remix, live version, remaster, alternate language version, etc. ⁴⁵
• ISRCs are permanent and travel with the recording across distributors and platforms; they should never be reused for a different recording. ⁶⁸⁷

3.1 Through a national ISRC agency

• IFPI maintains a global list of national ISRC agencies and instructions under "Get ISRC" and "ISRC Agencies." ⁹¹⁰¹
• You apply to the appropriate agency (or the International ISRC Agency if your country has none) to receive a registrant/prefix code, then generate ISRCs yourself. ¹¹¹²⁹

3.2 If you are in the United States

3.3 Using distributors and service partners

• Many digital distributors automatically assign ISRCs when you upload tracks and can act as your ISRC manager.
• Common examples include DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, and LANDR, all of which generate ISRCs at no extra per-track cost when you distribute through them. ^21819202122

3.4 Best practices for ISRC management

• Maintain a catalog (spreadsheet or database) mapping each ISRC to: track title, version, main artist, featured artists, writers, release(s), and release date. ⁷⁶⁴
• Never assign multiple ISRCs to the same recording, and never reuse an existing ISRC for a different recording. ⁴⁷

4.1 What a UPC/EAN is in music

• UPC (Universal Product Code) and EAN (International Article Number) identify the product/release (single, EP, album, physical or digital) — not individual tracks. ²³³²⁴²
• In a typical album: one UPC/EAN for the album, and one ISRC for each track. ²⁵²³

4.2 UPC structure (simplified)

A UPC is a 12-digit GTIN-12 number, often encoded as a barcode for physical products. ²⁶²⁷²⁸

4.3 When to assign a new UPC

One UPC/EAN per distinct product configuration:

• Standard vs. deluxe edition.
• Different formats (digital, CD, vinyl).
• Box sets or bundles. ²²³²⁶

A re-release with substantial changes (new tracklist, new edition) generally needs a new UPC, even if some tracks are the same. ³²

5.1 Directly from GS1 (label-grade approach)

GS1 is the global standards body that licenses company prefixes and single GTINs/UPCs. ²⁸³⁰³¹

5.2 Third-party barcode vendors and bundled services

• Barcode resellers and manufacturing/replication services can sell or bundle UPCs for individual releases at relatively low cost (often $20–30 per code). ³⁶³⁷²⁷
• These codes are typically based on legacy GS1 prefixes and are widely accepted, but the "brand owner" in some databases may display as the reseller rather than your company. ³⁸³⁹²⁷

5.3 Distributors that provide UPCs

6.1 Core metadata to capture

6.2 DDEX and industry standards

• DDEX standards (e.g., ERN for release notifications and MEAD for enriched metadata) provide common XML/JSON formats for sending releases to DSPs and partners. ⁴²⁴³⁴⁴
• Using DDEX helps ensure ISRC and UPC data, along with metadata, travel consistently across distributors, stores, and royalty systems. ⁴¹⁴²

6.3 Catalog and royalty workflows

• Implement validation checks for ISRC format, UPC/GTIN format, and uniqueness before releases go live. ²⁹²⁵²³
• Build or adopt a royalty pipeline that ingests usage/sales reports (often DDEX-based), maps them by ISRC and UPC to your catalog, and calculates pay-outs to rights holders. ⁴²²⁴¹