To find the ISRC of a song, open the ISRC lookup (also at isrc.aden.space) and type the song's name or artist, or paste its Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, SoundCloud or Deezer link. Each result shows the song's ISRC with a button to copy it, and opening a song shows its release and the release's UPC. It works the other way round too: paste an ISRC and it finds the song. It's free and needs no account.

An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is the 12-character ID of one recording, such as USRC17607839. Streaming services, distributors and collecting societies use it to match plays to that recording and pay the right people. Looking up the code of a released song is a different job from getting a code for your own unreleased music: for that, see how to get an ISRC.

When do you need to look up an ISRC?

• Registering recordings with a neighbouring-rights society such as PPL or SoundExchange, which match airplay and public performance to recordings by ISRC.
• Moving your catalogue to a new distributor. Re-upload each recording with its existing ISRC. With a new code, every service treats it as a new recording, and its play counts and royalty matching start over.
• Filling in label copy or a metadata sheet for a sync, a remix, a compilation or a playlist pitch.
• Checking what your distributor delivered: that the single and the album version share one code, or that the radio edit has its own.
• Finding the song behind a code on a royalty statement line you don't recognise.

How to find an ISRC with the ISRC lookup

1. Open the ISRC lookup.
2. Type a song, an artist or both, such as "Mr. Brightside The Killers". Or paste a link to the song from Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, SoundCloud, Deezer or a smart link. Or paste an ISRC in any format: US-RC1-76-07839 works as well as USRC17607839.
3. Each song shows its cover, artist, release date and ISRC. Press the button beside the code to copy it.
4. Open a song to see its release and the release's UPC, with its own copy button. A link or an ISRC finds one song and opens it at once.
5. To share what you found, copy the address: it keeps your search (/isrc?q=...).

If the song is yours, Add to Aden starts a new track from it, its Deezer link filled in. Without an account you sign up first and land on the same form.

You can also ask from ChatGPT, Claude and other AI apps: add ISRC lookup by Aden (mcp.aden.space/isrc-lookup) and ask for a song's ISRC in the chat.

ISRC or UPC: which one do you need?

The ISRC and the UPC answer different questions. The ISRC says which recording; the UPC says which release.

One recording can sit on several releases (the single, then the album, then a compilation) with the same ISRC each time and a different UPC on each release. That's why the lookup shows the UPC of the release you open, not of the song. The composition behind the recording has a third code, the ISWC, which ISRC, ISWC and IPI explained covers.

Why does a song have more than one ISRC?

Search a well-known song and you'll often see the same title several times, sometimes with different codes. That isn't always a mistake. One ISRC belongs to one recording, and a song often exists as several recordings:

• Edits: the radio edit, the clean version and the extended mix are each a recording of their own.
• Other versions: remixes, live recordings, acoustic takes, sped-up and slowed versions.
• Re-recordings: when an artist records their old songs again, the new recordings get new codes. That's usually the point, since the artist owns the new ones.
• Remasters: usually keep the original code, but a label sometimes issues a new one, especially when the remaster adds new creative input.
• Re-uploads: when an artist changes distributor and the new one assigns fresh codes instead of reusing the old ones, one recording ends up with two ISRCs. That one is a mistake, and it splits the song's history in two.

It works the other way too: the same ISRC can show up more than once, once as the single and once as the album track. Same recording, same code, different releases.

To tell the results apart, open each one: the release, the release date and the UPC tell you which version you're looking at. When you need a code for a registration or a statement, use the version that was actually played, sold or synced.

Where else can you find an ISRC?

• Your distributor's dashboard. Most distributors show each track's ISRC in the release's details. They assign one when you upload, unless you enter your own.
• Label copy. The label copy for a release lists every track's ISRC next to its title, version, writers and duration. See what goes in a label copy.
• Royalty statements. Distributor statements usually list the ISRC on every line, which is also how you match a line back to a song.
• The release itself. A master file can carry its ISRC in its metadata, and many CDs carry them in the disc's subcode.
• The label or the artist's team. For your own songs, your records should be the source of truth. The lookup is the quick check that the codes on the services match them.

What to do when an ISRC is missing

The lookup covers songs that are out on streaming services. When it finds nothing, it's usually one of these:

Never invent a code, and never give a recording a new ISRC when it already has one. If a recording genuinely has none, how to get an ISRC walks through the options, from your distributor to your national ISRC agency.

FAQ

What is the ISRC of a song?

The ISRC, or International Standard Recording Code, is a 12-character code that identifies one sound recording, such as USRC17607839. Distributors assign it, and streaming services and collecting societies use it to match plays to the recording and pay its owners. The song as a composition has a separate code, the ISWC.

Is the ISRC the same as the UPC?

No. The ISRC identifies one recording and the UPC identifies the release it's on, such as a single or an album. A recording keeps one ISRC across all the releases it appears on, and each of those releases has its own UPC.

Can a song have more than one ISRC?

Yes, when it exists as more than one recording. A radio edit, a clean version, a remix, a live version or a re-recording each gets its own ISRC. The same recording should keep one ISRC everywhere, so two codes for one unchanged recording usually mean a distributor assigned a new code on a re-upload.

Why can't I find the ISRC of my song?

The lookup covers songs that are out on streaming services. A song that isn't released yet has no public ISRC, so ask your distributor for it. If the song is out, try pasting its streaming link instead of typing its name.

Is the ISRC lookup free?

Yes. It's free and needs no account. You only sign up if you add a song to Aden as a track.