If you are trying to find the ISRC code for any song on Spotify or the ISRC for a song you’ve made, I’ve researched this and written the answer for you here.
To find the ISRC code for a song on Spotify, click the 3 dots beside the song and click on “Copy Song Link” under the share option. You can then paste this Spotify song link into the search box at ISRCFinder.com to get the song’s ISRC code.
You can also try typing in the Artist and Track Title into the search box at ISRCFinder.com to get the ISRC code for any of the 90+ million tracks on Spotify.
If you’re an artist that is looking to find the ISRC for your music, the above method will work, however, you can also get the ISRC from your music distributor.
How To Find The ISRC Code For Any Song On Spotify
An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a 12-digit code that is assigned for a unique recording of a song – different versions of a song (ie: remixes, alternate versions, covers, etc) will have unique ISRCs.
To find the ISRC code for any song on Spotify, follow these steps:
- Click the 3 dots beside the song on Spotify
- Click on “Copy Song Link” under the “Share” option
- Paste this Spotify Song Link into the search box at ISRCFinder.com
- Click on “Find ISRC” to get that recording’s unique ISRC code
Although you can also try simply typing in the Artist and Track Title into the search box at ISRCFinder.com, copying and pasting the Song Link from Spotify is the best way to make sure you get the ISRC code for the exact song you want.
Alternatively, you can get the ISRC code you are looking for by visiting your music distributor’s backend, contacting your music distributor, record label, or national ISRC agency.
However, simply using a website like ISRCFinder.com is the fastest and most straightforward way to find the ISRC code for any song on Spotify.
What Is ISRC Finder?
ISRCFinder.com is a website created by Patrick Scheidt that uses the Spotify Web API so that anyone can easily look up the ISRC for any of the 90+ million tracks on Spotify by typing in a Spotify Song Link or the song’s artist and track title.
ISRC Finder was created so that anyone can easily look up the ISRC for any recordings by themselves in response to the fact that not all record labels automatically and clearly provide this to artists.
DistroKid ISRC Explained
DistroKid automatically generates a new ISRC code for every song you upload for free. Users on the Musician Plus and Label plans also have the ability to specify their own ISRC codes if desired.
DistroKid generates and assigns the ISRC in the final steps before submitting the song to streaming services.
Once DistroKid has assigned the ISRC to your song, the location of your ISRC will be to the right of a track’s titles once you have clicked into its Releases page inside of your DistroKid dashboard.
To find the ISRC for your song on DistroKid, follow these steps:
- Log in to your DistroKid dashboard
- Select a release
- Scroll down to the “Songs” section to find the ISRC(s)
Following the steps above will help you find the ISRC(s) for releases that are singles as well as albums with multiple songs.
How To Use Your Own ISRC Code With DistroKid
If you want to use your own ISRC or re-use an ISRC for a song you’ve distributed through DistroKid in the past, here are the steps to follow:
- Make sure you are on DistroKid’s Musician Plus or Labels plan
- Log in to your DistroKid dashboard
- Click on “Upload” at the top of the page
- Click on “already got an isrc code?”
- Enter your ISRC into the field the appears
Here are some screenshots of what it looks like to add your own ISRC when uploading a song with DistroKid:
Although DistroKid will automatically try to attach the ISRC of a previously released song when you enter the same title and artist name when uploading a song, it is always safest to enter the ISRC as well to be sure.
It’s important to note that you can only specify a custom ISRC like this when you are on DistroKid’s Musician Plus or Label plan.
To learn more about these plans, check out any of these articles for more info:
Additionally, there is currently no way for you to specify a custom UPC code when distributing music with DistroKid.
ISRC Codes Explained
Here are the answers to some of the most common questions regarding ISRCs:
What is an ISRC?
An ISRC is a 12-digit code that is meant to be the unique identifier for an audio recording and is the abbreviated form for International Standard Recording Code.
An ISRC is assigned for a unique recording of a song which means that different versions of a song (ie: remixes, alternate versions, covers, etc) will have unique ISRCs.
The 12 digits of an ISRC are made up of 4 parts: the country code, registrant code, year of reference, and designation code (or serial number).
What is an ISRC used for?
A song’s ISRC is used as a digital fingerprint or passport for an audio recording to keep track of its streams, sales, and radio plays in addition to information such as composer(s), performer(s), label, and UPC details.
Any recording that is used for public consumption will find an ISRC useful to maximize potential earnings, establish ownership, and show 3rd parties who should be paid after using that recording.
Where can I get a database with all ISRC codes?
Because most tracks that are released are on Spotify, you can look at Spotify as being the world’s largest database of ISRCs.
You can do an ISRC code search by using the website ISRCFinder.com as well as ISRCSearch.ifpi.org.
How do you get an ISRC code for a song that you made?
You can get the ISRC code for a song you’ve made by using a website like ISRCFinder.com, by visiting your music distributor’s backend, or by contacting your music distributor, record label, or national ISRC agency.
Does a song released as a single and on an album have the same ISRC?
A song that is released as a single and as a song on an album will have the same ISRC if the audio recordings used for each are identical.
Alternate versions like updated mixes, remixes, covers, and acoustic versions will need a new ISRC since the audio recording is different from the original.
The main takeaway here is that a unique ISRC is assigned for each unique recording of a song.
Although most music distributors will automatically try to attach the ISRC of a previously released song when you enter the same title and artist name when uploading a song, it is always safest to manually enter the ISRC as well to be sure.
Does Your Music Distributor Collect All Royalties For You?
When your artist’s music is streamed, you are owed 2 different types of royalties: mater recording royalties and music publishing royalties.
Music Distributors only collect the money owed from your music’s sales on stores and streams from streaming services. These types of royalties are called master recording royalties.
At the time of writing this, DistroKid (the most popular music distributor) does not offer music publishing services to collect music publishing royalties and instead recommends SongTrust for music publishing.
With that said, the truth is that master recording royalties are significantly higher than music publishing royalties.
However, you should know that by not registering with a Performance Rights Organization (ie: BMI or ASCAP) or a music publisher like SongTrust, you may be leaving money on the table by not collecting songwriting and performance royalties.
To learn more about all of this, check out these articles for more information:
