ISRC CODES.
Get ISRC Codes for Your Songs in India
Every professional release carries an ISRC — the International Standard Recording Code, a unique 12-character identifier for each recording. It's invisible to listeners but essential to the business: it's how streams are counted, royalties are matched, and your catalog is tracked worldwide. Without correct ISRCs, your earnings can go missing.
What an ISRC Looks Like
Four parts: a 2-letter country code (IN for India), a 3-character registrant code, a 2-digit year, and a 5-digit number — e.g. IN-TIR-26-00001. Each version of a song (studio, live, remix, slowed-and-reverb) gets its own code. The related UPC barcode identifies the release as a whole; the ISRC identifies each track.
Why ISRCs Matter
- Royalty tracking: platforms and societies use ISRCs to match plays to your catalog. Wrong or missing codes mean unattributed streams.
- Content ID: YouTube's fingerprinting ties back to your ISRC registration.
- Charts and radio: airplay tracking in India depends on correct ISRCs.
- Catalog management: as your releases grow into the dozens, ISRCs keep everything organized and dispute-free.
How Indian Artists Get ISRCs
The practical route for 99% of independent artists: through your distributor. Distributors are registered ISRC managers and assign codes automatically with every release — free, correctly formatted, and registered in the global database. India's national allocation runs through the designated agency, but individual artists almost never need to deal with it directly.
How TIR Handles It
Automatic and free. Every track you distribute through The Imaginary Records gets an ISRC assigned at delivery — one per track, no duplicates, no reused codes, no paperwork for you. Your UPC barcode comes with it. It's simply part of distribution, alongside delivery to 200+ platforms in 24–48 hours.
Mistakes That Cause Real Problems
- Reusing an old ISRC for a new recording — creates royalty conflicts.
- Two distributors assigning different ISRCs to the same track — splits your earnings across identities.
- Releasing through a "distributor" that doesn't assign ISRCs at all — your music is effectively untracked.
ISRCs and Royalty Collection in India
ISRCs don't just identify your tracks — they're the key that unlocks royalty collection across India's music ecosystem. When your song plays on FM radio, a TV show, or a streaming platform, the ISRC is what collecting societies and platforms use to match that play to you. In India, this matters through bodies like IPRS (for songwriter/composer royalties) and PPL (for sound recording royalties) — both of which rely on accurate recording identifiers to distribute the money they collect.
This is also why metadata accuracy matters as much as the code itself. An ISRC attached to the wrong title, or a title with your artist name misspelled, breaks the chain just as surely as a missing code. When you distribute through TIR, we validate your metadata and ISRCs together before delivery — so the identifiers, the credits, and the audio all agree, and every play counts toward your balance.
Quick Answers
Do ISRC codes cost money?
Not through TIR — they're included free with every release.
Can I get ISRCs without a distributor?
Technically via the national agency, but it's designed for large labels. For independent artists, distributor-assigned codes are the standard.
Do I need a new ISRC for a remix?
Yes — each distinct recording gets its own ISRC. The original keeps its code.
What's the difference between ISRC and UPC?
ISRC identifies a track; UPC (barcode) identifies the release (single/EP/album) as a product. You need both; we provide both.
Releasing music? Your codes are covered. Apply — free distribution with ISRC + UPC included, 200+ platforms, 85% royalties.