Definition
ISRC
Also known as: International Standard Recording Code
A 12-character global identifier for a single sound recording — the fingerprint that follows a master through every DSP, society, and statement.
An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is the ISO-standard identifier assigned to a specific recording — not the song, not the release, the actual master. Two recordings of the same composition get two different ISRCs.
Format: CC-XXX-YY-NNNNN. Two letters for country, three for registrant, two for year, five for the designation. Example: US-S1Z-99-00001.
ISRCs are issued by national agencies (RIAA in the US, PPL in the UK, etc.) or passed through by your distributor. Every DSP, PRO, neighboring-rights society, and royalty system keys off this code — if it's wrong or missing, your money stops moving.
On SSP, the ISRC is bound into the on-chain stamp alongside the SHA-256 of the master. The chain becomes the canonical place where 'this ISRC = this audio file' is provable forever.