Overview
ISO 27729:2024 - Information and documentation - International standard name identifier (ISNI) specifies a global identifier for public identities used across media content industries. The ISNI system provides a unique, machine‑readable identifier to disambiguate names (people, organizations, groups, fictional characters) involved in creation, production, management and distribution of content. The ISNI itself is a “dumb” number (no embedded meaning) intended to link to metadata and other identifier systems rather than to carry descriptive data.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Identifier structure: An ISNI consists of 16 characters (15 decimal digits + a check character). When presented in human‑readable form it is prefixed by “ISNI” and displayed as four groups of four digits, e.g. ISNI 1422 4586 3573 0476.
- Check character: Calculated using ISO/IEC 7064, MOD 11-2 (Annex A). The check character may be a digit or “X”.
- Allocation principles (Annex B):
- One ISNI per single public identity; alternative spellings, scripts or presentations do not justify different ISNIs.
- Distinct public identities of the same party (e.g., pseudonyms) receive separate ISNIs.
- Corporate splits/mergers can justify new ISNIs; ISNIs are never re-used once assigned.
- Groups (e.g., bands) can be assigned ISNIs.
- Administration (Annex C): The ISNI Registration Authority manages allocation, metadata registers, policies, and appeals. The Registration Authority defines registrant classes and system architecture.
- Metadata and linking: ISNIs are associated with a defined metadata set (Annex D) and can be linked to other identifier systems (Annex E) to support disambiguation and data exchange.
Applications
- Disambiguation of creators, performers, publishers and corporate entities across catalogues, rights databases and discovery systems.
- Metadata management in libraries, archives, publishers and streaming services to enable accurate attribution and automated linking.
- Rights clearance and royalties: supports consistent identification across rights management and licensing workflows.
- Data exchange and interoperability: used in APIs, cataloging records and crosswalks to connect to authority files and other identifier systems.
Who should use this standard
- Metadata specialists, cataloguers and librarians
- Publishers, record labels and rights organizations
- Digital platforms, streaming services and aggregators
- Archives, museums and cultural institutions
- Identity registrars and software vendors building content management or rights systems
Related standards
- ISO/IEC 7064 - Security techniques - Check character systems (used for ISNI check character calculation)
- ISO 27729 is maintained by ISO/TC 46 (Information and documentation), Subcommittee SC 9 (Identification and description).
ISO 27729:2024 (ISNI) is essential for organizations needing reliable, standards‑based identification and disambiguation of public identities across the media and cultural heritage ecosystems.