All About ISWC and ISRC Codes

ISWCs and ISRCs are somewhat similar, and to explain how each of them work – and the nuanced differences between the two – we’re going to use the iconic song “Yesterday” by The Beatles as an example.  

An International Standard Musical Work Code (ISWC), is a unique, 11-character identifier that is used when activity or information related to the song needs to be tracked or managed, like during the processing of performance or mechanical royalties. ISWCs are assigned the first time a song is registered with a qualified ISWC agency; in the U.S., they are usually assigned by a performing rights organization (PRO).  

The ISWC for the original version of “Yesterday” written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney is T-801.412.391-3 and though the song has been recorded by many other artists since, that ISWC remains the same for any recorded version. You can learn more about ISWCs and access a publicly available database of ISWCs at: https://iswcnet.cisac.org.   

Like ISWCs, International Standard Recording Codes (ISRCs) are also utilized when tracking or managing the activity and information related to a particular song. The main difference, however, is that ISRCs are assigned to each individual version of a song (or music video).  

So while the ISWC for every version of “Yesterday” is the same, each recorded version of the song has its own IRSC: the IRSC for The Beatles original recording is GBAYE6500521, while IRSCs for subsequent recordings of the song in 1969 by Elvis Presley and Marvin Gaye in 1970 are USRC16908444 and USMO17000287, respectively.  

A 12-character ISRC is usually assigned by a record company during the production process. Independent or “DIY” artists whose releases are not handled by a record company will likely be assigned an ISRC by an authorized ISRC manager like a music distributor or metadata management company. Before they can issue an ISRC, the record company or ISRC manager must first obtain a Registrant Code from a nationally based IRSC agency; in the U.S., that agency is the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).  

For more information on ISRCs, visit https://isrc.ifpi.org/en/ or https://www.usisrc.org/. To search for an ISRC, visit https://isrc.soundexchange.com/.