ISO 3901:2019

Overview

ISO 3901:2019 defines the International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) - a 12-character, globally unique identifier for sound recordings and music video recordings (analogue or digital). The standard sets the ISRC structure, assignment rules, uniqueness guarantees and administration principles. ISRCs identify recordings throughout their lifecycle and support accurate metadata exchange, rights management and usage tracking across systems.

Key topics and technical requirements

• ISRC structure: 12 alphanumeric characters divided into three elements:
  • Prefix code: two letters followed by three alphanumeric characters (e.g., AA6Q7).
  • Year of reference: two digits representing the year the ISRC is assigned (e.g., 19 for 2019).
  • Designation code: five digits, left-packed with zeros (e.g., 00047).
• Assignment methods:
  • By registrants who have an allocated prefix code and designation range.
  • Automated assignment authorized by the ISRC Registration Authority, with published technical and administrative interfaces.
• Uniqueness and collision avoidance: The ISRC Registration Authority ensures allocated prefix codes and designation ranges are unique and do not collide with legacy allocations or other known assignments.
• Legacy support: Registrants with legacy country and registrant codes may construct prefix codes from those legacy allocations.
• Registry and metadata: All automated assignments and authorized entries are recorded in a single registry; assigned ISRCs must be associated with descriptive information as specified by the Registration Authority.
• Visual presentation and application guidance: Informative recommendations are included (Annex C); operational principles and administration are covered in Annexes A and B.
• Scope limits: ISRC applies to audio and music video recordings only; it is not for numbering products, carriers or mixed-media packages. ISRC can coexist with ISAN (ISO 15706) or DOI (ISO 26324) for music videos but does not cover other audiovisual forms.

Applications and who uses it

• Music producers and record labels assign ISRCs to recordings at production/release.
• Collective management organizations, rights holders and publishers use ISRCs for royalty tracking and licensing.
• Streaming services, broadcasters and digital platforms rely on ISRCs for accurate content identification, reporting and metadata synchronization.
• Archives, libraries and media asset managers use ISRC for cataloguing, preservation and retrieval of recordings.
• Developers and metadata integrators use ISRCs to match and deduplicate recordings across systems where text-based matching is unreliable.

Related standards

• ISO 15706 (ISAN) - International Standard Audiovisual Number (coexistence for certain music videos)
• ISO 26324 - Digital Object Identifier (DOI), may also be assigned to music videos

Keywords: ISO 3901, ISRC, International Standard Recording Code, recording identification, audio recordings, music video recordings, ISRC Registration Authority, designation code, prefix code, year of reference.