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Free ISRC tool

ISRC code lookup,
made simple

Have an ISRC code and want to know the song? Have a song and need its ISRC? Use the free tool below — no account, no jargon, no technical knowledge required.

Look up a song by ISRC

Paste an ISRC code below to see the song it belongs to — artist, title, and genre.

Find a song's ISRC code

Type an artist and song title to find the ISRC code for that recording.

Searches a catalog of 80M+ recordings. Results are for reference and metadata lookup.

The basics

What is an ISRC code?

An ISRC — International Standard Recording Code — is a unique 12-character ID for a single sound recording. Think of it as a fingerprint for one specific recording of a song.

Once a recording is given an ISRC, that code stays with it everywhere: on Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal, on a compilation album, in a music video, or in a radio play. It never changes and is never reused. That is what makes it so useful — it lets streaming services, labels, and royalty systems all agree on exactly which recording they mean, even when dozens of songs share the same title.

An ISRC identifies a recording, not a song. The original mix, the radio edit, and a live version of the same track are three different recordings — so each one has its own ISRC.

Anatomy

What an ISRC code looks like

An ISRC is written as four parts — for example US-RC1-76-07839. The dashes are only there to make it easier to read; the code itself is 12 characters with no dashes.

US-
Country
Where the code was registered — here, the United States.
RC1-
Registrant
The label or issuer that registered the recording.
76-
Year
The two-digit year the ISRC was assigned.
07839
Designation
A unique number for this recording within that year.
Step by step

How to find a song's ISRC

Streaming apps don't show ISRC codes to listeners, so the simplest way to find one is a metadata database like the tool on this page.

  1. 1

    Open the finder

    Scroll to the lookup tool above and find the “Find a song’s ISRC code” box.

  2. 2

    Enter the artist and song title

    Type the artist name and the exact song title into the two fields.

  3. 3

    Read the ISRC

    Press Search. Each matching recording shows its ISRC — different versions of a song each have their own.

Where they come from

Who needs an ISRC, and how to get one

Anyone releasing recorded music needs ISRCs — independent artists, labels, and distributors. They are how streaming platforms count plays and how royalties get paid to the right recording.

You don't buy ISRCs one at a time. Most musicians get them automatically: upload a track through a distributor such as DistroKid, TuneCore, or CD Baby and it assigns an ISRC for you. You can also register directly with your national ISRC agency — for example the RIAA in the United States or PPL in the United Kingdom — to issue your own codes.

Don't mix them up

ISRC vs UPC vs ISWC

Music has three different codes that are easy to confuse. Each one identifies a different thing.

ISRC
International Standard Recording Code
One sound recording — a single track.
ExampleUS-RC1-76-07839
UPC / EAN
Universal Product Code
A release as a product — an album or single.
Example0 06025 12345 6
ISWC
International Standard Musical Work Code
The written song itself — the composition.
ExampleT-345.246.800-1
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a unique 12-character ID for a single sound recording. It identifies one specific recording of a song — for example, the studio version of a track — and stays the same wherever that recording appears: Spotify, Apple Music, a compilation album, a music video, or a radio play. It is the recording industry's global serial number for a master recording.
Use the free tool above: type the artist and song title into the 'Find a song's ISRC code' box and press Search. The ISRC appears next to each matching recording. Streaming apps like Spotify and Apple Music don't show ISRCs to listeners, so a metadata database like this is the easiest way to look one up.
Yes. Looking up an ISRC code, or finding the ISRC for a song, is completely free here — no account, no payment, and no technical knowledge needed.
An ISRC is 12 characters, usually written as CC-XXX-YY-NNNNN — for example US-RC1-76-07839. The first two letters are a country code, the next three are the registrant (the label or issuer), then two digits for the year, and five digits that uniquely number the recording. The dashes are just for readability; the code is stored as 12 characters with no dashes.
An ISRC identifies a single recording — one track. A UPC (the barcode on a release) identifies a whole product, such as an album or single, as a package. An album has one UPC but a separate ISRC for every track on it. There is also the ISWC, which identifies the underlying song (the composition) no matter who records it.
No. Each distinct recording gets its own ISRC. The original mix, a radio edit, an extended mix, a live version, and a remaster are separate recordings, so each one has a different ISRC — even though they are the 'same song'. A simple re-release of the identical recording keeps its original ISRC.
You don't buy ISRCs one at a time. Most musicians get them automatically: when you upload a track through a distributor such as DistroKid, TuneCore, or CD Baby, it assigns an ISRC for you. You can also register directly with your national ISRC agency (for example the RIAA in the US or PPL in the UK) to issue your own codes.

Need ISRC data for an app?

This tool is powered by the SonoVault API — ISRC lookup, reverse search, and cross-platform track IDs for 80M+ recordings, behind one API key.

ISRC lookup for developersView the API docs →