What is an ISRC code?

This covers how ISRCs work everywhere, with details for the US agency and for DistroKid and Ditto, checked Sep 24, 2026. Short version: you almost never need to buy one.

What is an ISRC code?

An ISRC code (International Standard Recording Code) is a 12-character ID that permanently identifies one sound recording or music video. It belongs to the recording, not the song and not the release: a remix of your song gets its own ISRC, and an album gets a different kind of code. Stores, streaming services and royalty collectors use the ISRC to match every play and sale to the right recording. IFPI runs the system worldwide, and national agencies hand out the prefixes. Most artists never apply for one, because distributors assign ISRCs free when you upload. Once a code is assigned, it can’t be reused for anything else.

Think of it as your recording’s serial number. When a song gets played on Spotify, bought on iTunes or spun on the radio, the report that eventually pays you is keyed to that code. IFPI’s overview says the point is to avoid ambiguity between recordings and make rights easier to manage. In practice, it’s what stops your demo, your final mix and your acoustic version from being lumped together.

It’s also what keeps your stream count attached to the recording rather than to one upload. That part matters later, when you move a catalog from one distributor to another.

What an ISRC isn’t: proof you own the song, or a copyright registration. It’s a label on a box. Useful, but it doesn’t say whose box it is in any legal sense.

The 12 characters aren’t random, and reading them tells you a few things.

How to read an ISRC: the parts of the code

Every ISRC has three parts: a 5-character prefix, a 2-digit year and a 5-digit designation code. The prefix is 2 letters followed by 3 letters or numbers, and it’s allocated by an ISRC agency to whoever assigns the code (often your distributor). The year is the last two digits of the year the code was assigned. The designation code is a number the prefix owner picks, and it can’t repeat in the same year. IFPI’s own example is AA-6QZ-20-00047: the hyphens are only for display, and printed codes can carry the label “ISRC” in front.

You’ll often see the prefix described as a 2-letter country code plus a 3-character registrant code. That’s the older way of describing it, and IFPI’s structure page says the 2-letters-then-3 format is kept for compatibility. Don’t read too much into the country part. The US ISRC Agency says US prefixes can start with US, QM, QZ or QT.

A few things people get wrong when reading their own codes:

• The year isn’t your release year. A song you recorded in 2023 and uploaded this year has “26” in it.
• The prefix often isn’t yours. If your distributor assigned the code, the prefix is the distributor’s. That’s normal and doesn’t mean the distributor owns your recording.
• Hyphens don’t matter. Upload forms usually want the 12 characters with no spaces or hyphens.

Because the code is tied to one recording, the real question is what counts as a new recording.

One ISRC per recording, not per song

TheDebutRoom’s rule of thumb: if the audio is a different performance or a different edit, it needs a new ISRC, and if only the mastering changed, it usually keeps the old one. IFPI, which runs the ISRC system, lists remixes and edits as changes that need a new code, along with any change in playing time of more than 10 seconds. A remaster is the exception: IFPI says it can generally keep the original ISRC because it’s fundamentally the same recording, unless the remaster adds significant new creative input. The same recording on a single and later on your album keeps one ISRC.

Here’s how that sorts out for the versions most artists actually release:

• Radio edit, clean version, extended mix: new ISRC. Different edit.
• Remix, instrumental, acoustic take: new ISRC. Different mix or different performance.
• Live recording: new ISRC. It’s a separate performance, so it’s a separate recording.
• Sped-up or slowed version: new ISRC. It’s an edit, and it usually changes the length by more than 10 seconds anyway.
• Remaster of the same mix: usually the same ISRC, per IFPI’s FAQ.
• Single that later goes on the album: same ISRC.

That last one is where people lose streams by accident. If the album upload gets a fresh ISRC for the single, streaming services can treat it as a brand new recording with zero plays. Ditto’s help page on putting a track on more than one release says to upload from the same account and enter the same ISRC. DistroKid’s page on uploading a single before the album says reusing the ISRC needs the Musician Plus or Ultimate plan, and that keeping play counts may help but isn’t guaranteed.

The reverse mistake matters too. IFPI says an ISRC must never be reused for a different recording. So don’t put the album version’s code on the remix to “keep the streams together.”

One recording gets one ISRC. A release and a song each get their own code as well.

ISRC vs UPC vs ISWC

An ISRC identifies a recording, a UPC identifies a release, and an ISWC identifies the composition (the song as written). A 10-track album has one UPC, 10 ISRCs and up to 10 ISWCs. Your distributor usually assigns the ISRCs and the UPC when you upload. The ISWC comes from the songwriting side: it’s assigned after the song is registered with a PRO or other collecting society, once every writer on it has been identified. Spotify for Artists describes a UPC as a 12 to 14 digit code for your product in stores, and an ISWC as the identifier for the song itself, not the recording.

The easiest way to keep them straight is to ask what’s being counted:

The definitions are in Spotify for Artists’ glossary. The ISWC agency says codes are only assigned by an authorized registration agency once all the writers are identified, and ASCAP’s ISWC FAQ says new works registered there get one as part of the process.

One catch on UPCs: you can bring your own ISRCs to DistroKid on the higher plans, but DistroKid’s help center says it doesn’t accept UPCs from outside DistroKid. Our guide to UPC codes for music covers the release side in more detail.

The ISRC is the one you’ll actually handle, so here’s how to get one.

How to get an ISRC code

There are two ways to get an ISRC code: let your distributor assign one free when you upload, or buy your own prefix from your country’s ISRC agency and assign codes yourself. The distributor route takes no extra steps. You upload the song, and the ISRC shows up on the release once it’s processed. The own-prefix route takes three steps: open an account with your national agency, pay for a prefix, then build each 12-character code yourself and keep a log so no designation number repeats. In the US, the agency is the US ISRC Agency, run by the RIAA, and a prefix costs a one-time $95 fee.

Route 1: through your distributor. DistroKid’s help center says it’s appointed by the US ISRC Agency and generates a new ISRC for every song you upload, free. Ditto says the same: it assigns ISRCs and a UPC free, and you can bring your own ISRCs (but not your own UPC). Two DistroKid details to know. You can’t get an ISRC from DistroKid before you upload, though on Musician Plus or Ultimate you can set a future release date and get the codes early. And once a track is uploaded, its ISRC is locked.

Route 2: your own prefix (US). The US ISRC Agency charges a one-time $95 administrative fee for a Rights Owner Prefix, as of Sep 24, 2026. Its about page says one prefix lets you assign up to 100,000 ISRCs a year, which is a lot of singles. You apply as a rights owner, and you should only use the prefix for recordings you own or control.

Outside the US: find your national agency on IFPI’s list of ISRC agencies. Prices and rules vary by country.

Whichever route you pick, the code works the same way in stores.

Free distributor ISRCs vs buying your own

TheDebutRoom’s advice: take the free ISRC from your distributor unless you run a label or release recordings for other people. A distributor-assigned code identifies your recording just as well as one you bought, and ISRC rules say the code stays with the recording even when the distributor or the owner changes. Buying your own prefix gets you codes before you pick a distributor, your own name in the prefix, and one numbering system across every service you use. For a solo artist putting out a few singles a year, that’s $95 and a spreadsheet for very little gain.

Where buying your own does make sense:

• You run a small label. You’re assigning codes to other artists’ recordings you control, and you want one system.
• You need codes before upload. A sync library, a physical pressing or a collaborator’s paperwork asks for the ISRC before the song is distributed.
• You split one catalog across distributors. Your own codes keep everything consistent.

Where it doesn’t:

• You’re releasing your own music through one distributor. The free code does the job.
• You’re worried about losing your codes if you leave. You won’t. The US ISRC Agency’s guidance says codes should keep being used for the same recordings, and that assigning new ones is actually harmful. Ditto says its codes stay yours when you leave.

One warning. Some services sell individual ISRCs to artists. In the US, the companies allowed to assign codes for recordings they don’t own are listed as ISRC Managers on the US ISRC Agency’s site. If someone is selling you a code, check whose prefix it’s on and whether that seller is on the list. A code on someone else’s prefix, bought from a middleman, is a mess to sort out later.

The moment your ISRCs really start to matter is when you move to another distributor.

Keep the same ISRC when you switch distributors

When you switch distributors, re-upload each song with the same ISRC codes, which carry stream counts over, and take the old release down. The order depends on where you’re moving: DistroKid says to upload there first and remove the old release the next day, while Ditto says to take the old release down first. A new ISRC makes the song look like a brand new recording to streaming services, so its play count and playlist placements don’t follow it. Copy the title, artist name, audio and artwork exactly too. On DistroKid, entering an existing ISRC needs the Musician Plus or Ultimate plan.

This is the part that can go quietly wrong. The steps from each side:

• Moving to DistroKid: DistroKid’s switching page says upload first, then remove the old release the next day. Its help page on existing ISRCs says you can bring outside ISRCs on Musician Plus or Ultimate. The cheapest plan can’t, which catches people mid-move.
• Moving to Ditto: Ditto’s switching guide says take the old release down first. Its page on existing ISRCs says the same ISRC keeps your stream counts and playlist placements.

Before you touch anything, write down every song’s ISRC, exact title and exact artist spelling. Losing a stream count you spent two years building because one field was off is a rotten feeling, and it’s avoidable.

One more DistroKid rule: the same ISRC can’t be on two DistroKid accounts. If a bandmate uploaded the song on their account, sort out whose account keeps it first.

The full move, step by step, is in our guide to DistroKid alternatives. If you’re still choosing where to go, the best music distribution services roundup compares all seven we track.

To reuse a code, you first need to know what it is.

How to find the ISRC for your song

The fastest way to find an ISRC is your distributor’s dashboard: open the release, and the code sits next to each track. On DistroKid, click the release title to open the album page and scroll down, and the ISRC is listed across from each track. On Ditto, go to Music, open the release, and scroll to the Tracklist section. If you’ve lost access to the account that released it, ask that distributor’s support for the codes. You can also look up released recordings in SoundExchange’s free ISRC Search.

A few more places the code turns up:

• Your old emails. Some distributors include ISRCs in release confirmation emails.
• The audio file metadata. Files you got back from a distributor or label may have the ISRC embedded.
• SoundExchange ISRC Search. The US ISRC Agency points to it and says it’s updated daily from repertoire data sent to SoundExchange. It’s the best bet for a song whose distributor account is gone.

Codes are one part of release prep. The release hub has the rest, from mastering to cover art.