the music tech glossary.
the identifiers and standards a record label, a publisher or a catalog runs on, in plain words. every definition links the page of the body that issues it.
- ISRCInternational Standard Recording Code
the code that identifies a sound recording or a music video. it does not identify the composition, the product or the performer. it is 12 letters and numbers: a 5-character prefix from an ISRC agency, 2 digits for the year of reference and a 5-digit designation code.
from IFPI, the ISRC International Agency, read October 20, 2026.
- ISWCInternational Standard Musical Work Code
a unique, permanent, internationally recognised reference number for a musical work, the composition. it is the ISO 15707 standard.
from CISAC, the ISWC International Agency, read October 20, 2026.
- IPIInterested Party Information
the system that identifies everyone with an interest in a work: writers, composers, arrangers, publishers. each interested party gets an IP Base Number, allocated automatically by the IPI system.
from CISAC, read October 20, 2026.
- UPCUniversal Product Code
the barcode that identifies a product. the numbers it encodes are the product's GTIN.
from GS1 US, read October 20, 2026.
- GTINGlobal Trade Item Number
the GS1 identification key for a trade item, a product or a service, sold online or in a store. a UPC encodes one.
from GS1 US, read October 20, 2026.
- DDEXDigital Data Exchange
the standards body for the music industry's digital supply chain. its message standards are how labels, distributors and streaming services exchange data and information.
from DDEX, read October 20, 2026.
- ERNElectronic Release Notification
the DDEX messages that carry a release's metadata to the services that will make it available, and say how it can be made available.
from DDEX, read October 20, 2026.
- DSRDigital Sales Reporting
the DDEX flat-file messages that report sales and usage on a streaming or download service. the service usually sends them to the rights owner.
from DDEX, read October 20, 2026.
- CWRCommon Works Registration
the standard format for registering a musical work. it carries every data element a publisher needs to register a work with a performance or mechanical rights society.
from CISAC, read October 20, 2026.
- CMOCollective Management Organisation
an organisation that manages rights for its members, also called a collecting society. CMOs exist to give authors an efficient, cost-effective way to manage their rights around the world.
from CISAC, read October 20, 2026.
- The MLCThe Mechanical Licensing Collective
the US organisation that administers blanket mechanical licenses for eligible streaming and download services, collects the royalties due under them and pays songwriters, composers, lyricists, publishers, administrators and CMOs.
from The MLC, read October 20, 2026.
- Blanket mechanical license
the license a streaming or download service operates under in the US. each month the service sends The MLC usage data and royalties for everything streamed and downloaded on it.
from The MLC, read October 20, 2026.
- SoundExchange
the organisation designated by the US government to administer the Section 114 sound recording license. it collects and distributes digital performance royalties from services such as Pandora, SiriusXM and iHeartRadio.
from SoundExchange, read October 20, 2026.
- Neighbouring rights
the rights the Rome Convention added beside copyright: performers over their performances, producers of phonograms over their recordings, and broadcasters over their programs.
from CISAC, read October 20, 2026.
the software built on these: custom software for the music industry and the case studies.