Release identifiers explained: what an ISRC is, what a UPC is, and why you need both

An ISRC identifies one recording. A UPC identifies one release, meaning the product a store sells. A single needs both, because the track and the thing that contains it are two different objects, and different systems track each one.

One release, several codes

Here is the whole subject in one table. If you read nothing else, read this.

Two of these are yours to worry about at upload time. The other two arrive through the publishing side, on a different schedule.

Recording, release, composition

Almost every confusion here comes from collapsing three things into one.

The recording is the audio: this take, this mix, this master. It gets an ISRC.

The release is the product: the single, EP or album that a store lists and a customer buys or streams. It gets a UPC. One release usually contains several recordings, so one UPC sits above several ISRCs.

The composition is the song itself, independent of any recording of it. It gets an ISWC, and that comes from the publishing side rather than the distribution side.

Three objects, three codes. Our guide to getting your music ready for distribution covers where these sit in the wider checklist.

ISRC, the recording code

An ISRC is a 12 character code that identifies one recording, permanently, everywhere it appears.

It is the reason a stream on one service and a stream on another can be counted as the same track. Play counts, royalty statements, chart data and Content ID matches all attach to the ISRC rather than to a title, which is fortunate, because titles are not unique and get typed differently in every system.

How an ISRC is built

The IFPI, which administers the standard, breaks the 12 characters into three elements.

Take their example, AA-6QZ-20-00047. The hyphens are for reading only and are not part of the code.

• AA6QZ is the prefix code, five characters: two letters followed by three alphanumeric characters, allocated to a registrant by an ISRC agency.
• 20 is the year of reference, the last two digits of the year the code was assigned to the track.
• 00047 is the designation code, five digits chosen by the registrant.

Two things worth knowing about that middle element. The year of reference is the year the code was assigned, not the year the recording was made. The IFPI is explicit that recording year belongs in metadata rather than being read out of the ISRC. So a 2019 recording released in 2024 may well carry 24 in the code, and nothing is wrong.

One recording, one code, permanently

This is the rule that makes everything else work. The IFPI states that once an ISRC has been assigned to a track it should remain the same for the lifespan of the track, even if ownership of the track changes.

The same source is equally firm in the other direction: once assigned, an ISRC must not be reused under any circumstances, including when a recording is never released. A retired code stays retired.

Together those two rules mean the code is a stable handle on a recording across every store, every distributor and every change of ownership for as long as the recording exists.

When a new code is required

A new recording needs a new code. The question is what counts as a new recording.

Remixes and edits need their own ISRC, and so does a change in playing time beyond a short tolerance. A live version is a different recording from the studio version. A re-recording is a different recording from the original, even when it is the same performers playing the same arrangement.

Remastering usually does not need a new code, unless the work involved significant new creative input.

A music video counts as its own recording as well. The IFPI states that a sound recording and a music video recording are different recordings, even when the audio in the video is the same, so the two must carry different ISRCs. Release a video alongside the track and you need two codes, not one.

A cover version is a separate recording and gets its own ISRC, because you made it. The composition underneath is somebody else's and that is a licensing question rather than an identifier one. See permission to cover a song for that side.

UPC and EAN, the release code

A UPC identifies the release rather than any track on it.

A product barcode, and why a digital single still has one

The lineage is retail. GS1 issues the numbers behind the barcodes on physical products, and when recorded music moved to digital stores, the release kept the identifier it already had.

That turns out to be useful rather than vestigial. Stores, chart compilers and royalty systems all need one identifier for the product a customer bought, distinct from the identifiers for the tracks inside it. A digital single is a product with one track in it, so it gets a product code and a recording code, and they do different jobs.

Twelve digits and thirteen

GS1's own terminology is the clearest way to hold this. The number is a GTIN, a Global Trade Item Number, and GS1 defines GTIN-12 as a 12 digit number mostly used in North America, synonymous with UPC, and GTIN-13 as a 13 digit number mostly used in Europe and the rest of the world, synonymous with EAN.

GS1 also draws a distinction worth keeping straight: the GTIN is the number, and the barcode is the printed representation of it. When a distribution form asks for a UPC, it wants the number.

For a music release the two formats are effectively interchangeable, and GS1 notes that all GTIN formats are usually accepted by marketplaces and retailers worldwide. If your release has a 13 digit code and a form says UPC, that is normally fine.

The check digit

The last digit is not chosen. It is computed from the digits in front of it, which is what lets a system catch a mistyped code without looking anything up.

Get one digit wrong when you retype a barcode and the arithmetic stops agreeing with the final digit. That is why a checker can tell you a code is malformed instantly, and why "the barcode was rejected" often means a transcription error rather than a real problem with the release.

One per release

One release, one UPC. The complications are all about what counts as one release.

A deluxe edition with extra tracks is a different product and takes its own UPC, while the tracks carried over from the standard edition keep the ISRCs they already had. A re-release with different artwork or a different track order is a different product. A single later folded into an album keeps its own UPC as a single, and the album gets a separate one, with the shared recording appearing under both by way of its unchanged ISRC.

That is the pattern to remember. Release codes multiply as products multiply. Recording codes do not.

Check the codes you already have

If you have a code in front of you right now, there are two questions worth answering before you paste it into a form.

Is it well formed? An ISRC has a fixed shape and a barcode has a check digit, so both can be tested without consulting a database. Does it point at what you think it points at? A valid code can still be the wrong code, attached to a different recording or a different release than the one you have open.

Who assigns your codes

Your distributor as the issuing route

For most releases, both codes arrive without being asked for. Your distributor holds a registrant prefix for ISRCs and a GS1 prefix for barcodes, assigns codes from those ranges as you build the release, and delivers them to stores with the audio.

This is the normal route and there is nothing second-class about it. The codes are real, they are registered, and they behave the same as codes obtained any other way.

Registering direct with an ISRC agency, and with GS1

You can also hold your own prefixes.

For ISRCs you apply to your national ISRC agency for a registrant prefix, then assign codes yourself. The US ISRC Agency explains the two routes: apply as a rights owner and assign codes to recordings you own, or work through an approved ISRC Manager. It also carries a warning worth repeating, that companies claiming to assign ISRCs on behalf of clients without authorization produce invalid codes that risk collisions with properly issued ones.

Not every country has an agency. Where yours does not, the IFPI says you can obtain an ISRC from the International ISRC Registration Authority instead, so the direct route stays open wherever you are based.

For barcodes you obtain a company prefix from GS1 and generate GTINs from it.

Both routes involve fees, and both sets of fees change, so check the current figures on the agency's own pages rather than trusting a number in an article. As a rule of thumb, holding your own prefixes starts to make sense at the point where you are issuing codes at volume across a catalog, or where you want the codes to be traceable to your own company rather than to a service provider. Below that, the administrative overhead outweighs the benefit.

Owning your codes

Ownership here means less than people expect, and it matters in a specific way.

If the codes were assigned from your distributor's prefix, the prefix belongs to them and the code identifies your recording. If they were assigned from your own prefix, both belong to you. In either case the ISRC stays attached to the recording, because the IFPI's rule is that the code survives a change of ownership.

What differs is control and traceability, not whether the code keeps working. Our guide on getting your music ready for distribution covers where this decision sits in release prep.

Keeping your codes when you change distributor

Stream history attaches to the ISRC. That single fact is what makes this section matter.

Move a recording to a new distributor and redeliver it under its existing ISRC, and the play count, the playlist positions and the chart history stay with it. Redeliver the same recording under a new ISRC and stores see a new recording. It starts at zero, and the old version's history sits with a code nobody is delivering any more.

So before you move, list what you have: the ISRC for every recording and the UPC for every release, read off your existing releases rather than from memory. Then confirm with the incoming distributor that they will deliver under those codes rather than issuing new ones. Policies differ between companies, so ask the specific question and get the specific answer, in writing. Our help center covers what a catalog transfer does to your numbers on the Unchained side.

The barcode side is less consequential because a UPC carries product identity rather than stream history, though keeping it avoids duplicate listings of the same release. Our roundup of entry-level distribution services covers what to check before a switch more broadly, and how long distribution takes covers the timing.

The codes that are not your recording or your release

Forms ask for these in the same breath as ISRCs and UPCs, and they are not release identifiers.

ISWC, the composition code

The ISWC identifies the song as written rather than any recording of it. CISAC, which runs the system, describes it as identifying musical works by reference to the title of a work and its creators, and states that it does not identify manifestations such as publications, recordings or broadcasts.

So one composition has one ISWC and every recording of it has a different ISRC. A song covered forty times has one ISWC and forty ISRCs. You do not obtain an ISWC at upload; it is assigned through the publishing side once the work is registered with a society. See what music publishing covers for how that side works.

IPI and PRO member numbers

An IPI number identifies a person or a company, not a work. Your performing rights organization issues one when you join, and it is how societies tell you apart from every other writer with your name.

Give it accurately on registrations and split sheets. A misattributed writer share is usually a name-matching problem, and the IPI is what solves it.

Store artist IDs

A Spotify URI and an Apple Music artist ID identify you rather than your work. They are how a platform knows which artist profile a release belongs to, which matters most when your name is not unique or when you are claiming a profile.

Forms ask for them alongside the release codes and they serve a completely different purpose. See how to find your Spotify URI and A Guide to Apple Music for Artists.

Where each code shows up after release

Royalty statements are line-itemed by ISRC, which is how you reconcile what you were paid against what was played.

Content ID and other reference matching systems use the ISRC to connect an audio match to a recording. Our guide to YouTube Content ID covers what that means for claims on your recordings.

Store back-ends index releases by UPC, so it is the code to quote in a support ticket about a listing. Chart reporting uses both, ISRC for tracks and UPC for releases. And your performing rights organization registration uses neither of them, because it deals in the composition.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay for an ISRC?

It depends on the route. Distributors typically include code assignment in what they already provide, so most artists never pay separately. Registering directly with a national ISRC agency for your own prefix involves a fee set by that agency. Check the agency's own page for the current amount, since these change.

Can I use the same ISRC on two releases?

Yes, if it is the same recording appearing on both. A track on a single and then on an album keeps one ISRC across both, while each release carries its own UPC. What you must never do is assign one ISRC to two different recordings.

What happens if my ISRC is wrong after release?

Contact your distributor rather than fixing it yourself. Correcting a delivered code means a redelivery, and depending on what was wrong you may lose the stream history attached to the incorrect code. This is worth catching before release, which is what a checker is for.

Do I need a UPC for a single?

Yes. A single is a product a store lists, so it takes a release code the same as an album does. Your distributor will normally assign one automatically.

Where do I find my codes?

In your distributor's release dashboard, on the delivered release in store back-ends, and on your royalty statements. If you only have a public store link, the codes can often be read back from the release itself. For an Unchained release, our help center covers where to find your UPC and ISRC codes screen by screen.

Is an ISRC the same as a copyright?

No. An ISRC is an identifier. It records that a specific recording exists and gives systems a consistent way to refer to it. Copyright arises independently and is a matter of law, not of code assignment. Holding an ISRC proves nothing about who owns a recording, and the IFPI's own rule that the code survives a change of ownership makes that plain.

Does a cover version need its own ISRC?

Yes. Your cover is a new recording, so it gets a new ISRC. The composition keeps its existing ISWC, and the licensing for using someone else's composition is a separate matter.

What is the difference between EAN and UPC?

Digit count and region. GS1 defines UPC as a 12 digit GTIN used mostly in North America and EAN as a 13 digit GTIN used mostly elsewhere. For a music release they are effectively interchangeable, and a form asking for a UPC will normally accept either.

This article explains how release identifiers work. It is not legal advice, and questions about ownership of recordings or compositions should go to a qualified lawyer.

Codes are one of the things that should be settled before a release date, not after it. Unchained assigns your ISRCs and barcodes as part of building a release and delivers to 150+ platforms under the codes on the release. See the distribution plans for how that works for your next one.