ISRC vs UPC vs ISWC:
what's the difference?

Three identifiers, three jobs

An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code, ISO 3901) identifies one sound recording or music video. A UPC, or the 13-digit EAN, is the barcode of a product: a single, an EP or an album. An ISWC (International Standard Musical Work Code, ISO 15707) identifies the musical work, the composition and lyrics, not a particular performance of it.

They come from different systems. ISRCs are issued under the International ISRC Agency (IFPI) by national agencies and the registrants those agencies appoint. UPCs come from GS1, usually via a distributor. ISWCs are allocated by CISAC after a work is registered with a collective management organization such as ASCAP, BMI or PRS. This site looks codes up. It does not assign them, and it is not affiliated with IFPI, GS1 or CISAC.

ISRC: one recording

One ISRC, 12 characters such as US-UM7-19-00764, stays with one recording for its life. The studio master, a remaster that changes the audio, a radio edit, a live take and a music video are different recordings, so each gets its own code. Releasing the exact same audio on a compilation does not. The character-by-character format is in what an ISRC is.

UPC: one release

A release is the product stores list. It gets one UPC. A ten-track album therefore has one UPC and ten ISRCs. A single that later appears on the album keeps the track's ISRC and gets a second UPC, because the album is a different product. The UPC lookup lists every ISRC on a barcode, or shows the barcode attached to a song.

ISWC vs ISRC

An ISWC looks like T-345246800-1: the letter T, nine digits and a check digit. It tells publishers and performing-rights organizations which composition was used, so they can pay the writers. It says nothing about which recording was played. A song can have one ISWC and many ISRCs.

You do not get an ISWC from a distributor upload. It is allocated after the work is registered with a society, and only once the writers are identified (each writer has an IPI number, which identifies a person or publisher, not the song). Distributors do not issue ISWCs.

One album: 1 UPC and N ISRCs

A 10-track album of original songs is counted three ways:

• ▸1 UPC (or EAN) for the album. The lead single, if it was also released on its own, has a separate UPC.
• ▸10 ISRCs, one per recording. A bonus live track is an 11th ISRC, even when it is the same composition.
• ▸Up to 10 ISWCs, one per composition. A cover does not get a new ISWC for the original song. An instrumental that is a new composition does.

Covers, remasters and remixes

A cover shares the original composition's ISWC and gets a new ISRC, because it is a new recording. Distributed as its own single or album, it also gets its own UPC.

A remaster that changes the audio needs a new ISRC. The composition is unchanged, so the ISWC stays. The remastered album is usually a new product with a new UPC. A compilation that reuses the exact original audio should keep the original ISRC, and the compilation still has its own UPC.

A remix is a new recording, so it needs a new ISRC. If the remix is registered as a separate musical work, it can receive its own ISWC. That is a publishing decision for the writers and their society, not something an ISRC registrant decides.

When you need each code

If a spreadsheet has one column, do not drop an ISRC into the UPC field. An ISRC contains letters. A UPC is 12 digits and an EAN is 13.

• ▸Delivering audio to Spotify, Apple Music and other stores: an ISRC per track and a UPC per release. Distributor forms have a field for each.
• ▸Neighbouring rights (SoundExchange, PPL and similar): the ISRC of the master that was played.
• ▸Songwriter and publisher royalties: the ISWC, plus the writers' IPI numbers.
• ▸Playlist pitching, pre-saves and smart links: usually the UPC or a store link. The ISRC matters when you have to name one version.
• ▸A sync license: typically both. The ISRC names the master; the ISWC names the composition.

Looking a code up

Paste a song, a streaming link, an ISRC or a UPC into the search on this page. A song or link returns the ISRC and, when the catalog publishes it, the UPC of the release. A UPC lists the tracks. An ISWC is not in the streaming catalogs this tool reads. For that, ask the publisher or the society that registered the work.