According to Spotify, the streaming giant, there are more than 60,000 songs —African songs’ count unknown— released every day and one uploaded every 1.4 seconds. With more and more songs being uploaded and streamed by listeners across the globe on different Digital Service Platforms (DSPs), how do music stakeholders —from record labels, independent artists, music distributors, and other contributors— get a reward for their work?

It all starts with metadata, i.e. data that provide details about other data. In music, it involves the collation and collection of data as it relates to a song from its making until its eventual release. The metadata helps to answer the 5Ws (what, when, where, who, why) and 1H (how) giving information on the artist name, release title, genre, recording country, release date, release country, track duration, songwriter, record label, music publisher, music producer, and other details.

One would wonder, why take on the laborious task of capturing all these data for every track? Of what importance is metadata to music stakeholders? Imagine a library with numerous books, how does a reader access the particular book he/she is looking for without going through every book on the shelf? Indexing! Likewise, considering the number of songs that are released per day, metadata ensures each music gets to its target audience. It also ensures that every other contributor gets paid no matter which platform or location in the world the work was streamed.

As metadata is important to every song, so is the ISRC.

ISRC, the acronym for International Standard Recording Code, is a unique set of character codes, usually 12 digits, assigned to each sound recording. It has a very similar function to the ISBN for published books. Considering the uniqueness of the ISRC, a code is limited to just one sound recording. If a song has original, different remixes, cover, instrumentals/acoustics, and any other iterations to its sounds, each of this production must be given an ISRC each. This also applies to albums and EPs. Each track because of its unique sound recordings gets an ISRC. For example, an EP with three tracks receives three ISRC, one for each track.

Without embedding this 12-digit code into a song before being released to the public, whether on digital platforms or CDs, the song becomes a pin in a haystack, difficult to find and the creator to get paid. This is because the independent artists, music distributors, retailers, and other industry stakeholders who use ISRC to track record sales and downloads can’t and won’t get royalties due. Also, ISRC helps to avoid any ownership tussle over any sound recording as specific data that ties it to a specific creator is embedded in the ISRC. So, there’s no contest on whether it’s artist A or B that owns a sound recording.

Knowing the importance of an ISRC and metadata, getting an ISRC and having well-captured and fully updated metadata are non-negotiable requirements for every song. Like a microchip uploaded with a person’s biodata and embedded into the person’s body to provide the necessary information in emergencies, so is the ISRC carrying all the music metadata of a sound recording.

At this point, it’s important to mention that ISRC is not limited to sound recording, the code is also assigned to podcasts, audiobooks, and music videos.

In 1986, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the recording industry association in the United States, partnered with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to create a 12-digit code known as the ISRC for tracking sound recordings.

First is purchasing ISRC directly from a country's ISRC Agency. This process is usually for the bulk purchase of codes and applying to be a Registrant. It’s the most ideal for music producers or record label owners. Approved Registrants can generate and assign ISRC to all sound recordings without having to repeat the application process to the agency one too many times. The caveat is that Registrants are required to keep an updated ledger with details of ISRC assigned and share data with the country’s ISRC Agency.

The other approach to obtaining an ISRC is requesting a Registrant or ISRC Manager to assign one to your sound recording. The process is best for a songwriter or an independent artist who requires a one-off code.

The 12 digits of the ISRC is an alphanumeric combination of four unique criteria. They are:

Country Code: This is the first 2 digits, usually representing the country where the registrant is based. For example, NG for Nigeria; RW for Rwanda; MU for Mauritius. For more codes see Ybayle.

Registrant Code: This is the next 3-digits that identify the recording rightsholder. They are constant and do not change even if the sound is licensed to a new owner.

Reference Year: The next 2-digits (which are the 6th and 7th digits) are for the year the ISRC was assigned to the recording.

Designation code: These are the last 5-digits of the ISRC. It’s usually numbers assigned by the registrant and can’t be reassigned within the same calendar year.

Here’s an example: The ISRC for the sound recording of Davido’s Assurance is GBARL1800569. The first 2-digit, “GB stands for Great Britain”, “ARL stands for the recording rightsholder”, “18 is the reference year, meaning the song was assigned ISRC in 2018”, and the last 5-digit, “00569 was assigned by the registrant, AAL.”

The music industry is organized through identifiers for both works and people or infrastructure involved in creating the works.

What do you know about ISRC?

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