016 International Standard Recording Code (ISRC)

Field Definition

This field contains an International Standard Recording Code and a qualification which distinguishes between ISRCs when more than one is contained in a record. The field corresponds to the ISBD Standard Number (or Alternative) and Terms of Availability Area. The field may contain the terms of availability and/or price, even if it does not contain an ISRC.

Occurrence

Optional. Repeatable when more than one valid ISRC is to be recorded.

Indicators

Indicator 1: blank (not defined)

Indicator 2: blank (not defined)

Subfields

$a Number (ISRC)

A correctly applied ISRC including hyphens. The ISRCs are assigned by the designated agency in each country. (Optional and not repeatable)

$b Qualification

An indication of the scope of the ISRC in subfield $a (if present), usually the name of a publisher, an indication of the binding of the item, or an indication of the relationship of an ISRC to a set or to a particular volume. (Optional and not repeatable)

$d Terms of Availability and/or Price

The price of the item and any comment on its availability. Where there is an 010 International Standard Book Number field and the contents of this subfield would simply repeat what is in 010$d then the subfield can be omitted. (Optional and not repeatable)

$z Erroneous ISRC

An ISRC that has been identified as being erroneously applied to an item or is otherwise invalid. It may have been allocated to two different publications and in this instance cancelled, or it may have been incorrectly printed. (Optional and repeatable)

Notes on Field Contents

ISRC structure:

The ISRC is used to identify an audio, video or audio-visual recording, according to the provisions of ISO 3901.

Each separately available constituent part of a publication must receive its own ISRC. An ISRC consists of twelve digits. Whenever it is printed or written, the number is preceded by letter ISRC. In countries where the Latin alphabet is not used, an abbreviation in the local script may be used in addition to the Latin letters ISRC.

The ISRC is divided into five elements, two of which are of variable length, each of which is separated by a hyphen.

Country code: A two-letter country code assigned from ISO 3166-1.

First owner code: An alphanumeric 3 character code assigned by nominated agencies.

Year of recording code: The last two digits of the year.

Recording code: This consists of three or four digits, assigned by the first owner. If there are fewer than ten recorded items the code will be in the range 0000-2999; if there are more than nine the code will be in the range 300-999.

Recording item code: This consists of a number from 0-9 if the recording code has four digits and a number from 00-99 if the recording code has three.

Data format:

The letters ISRC, which are usually found printed with an ISRC on the item, should not be entered in field 016.

Any ISRC which is found to be wrongly printed on the item can be entered in subfield $z, Erroneous ISRC, which is provided to give access to records that may have been requested by an erroneous number appearing on the item.

Hyphens are inserted to separate the five parts of the number in the $a or $z subfield. No other punctuation is permitted. The purpose of the hyphens in the ISRC is to separate the distinct parts. When an ISRC is displayed in a catalogue entry the inclusion of the hyphens is mandatory. Many national agencies do not store the hyphens in the machine-readable record since they can be generated by algorithm if the range of publisher identifiers which have been allocated is known. When records are exchanged internationally the recipient of records may not always know the range of publisher identifiers. Therefore it is recommended that hyphens always be included in the ISRC in field 016 to ensure the display output.

In order to distinguish between ISRCs when there is more than one in a record, qualifications may be added to one or more of them, according to the practice of the agency preparing the record.

Terms of availability and price are often related to each ISRC. Thus this information is recorded in the same field. Punctuation is included with the data as required.

The field should be repeated for each valid ISRC. It should be repeated for an invalid ISRC unless that invalid ISRC clearly relates to a known valid equivalent entered in the record, in which case the invalid ISRC will be entered in the same field as its corresponding valid ISRC.

Some agencies may use the ISRC as record identifier and enter it in the field 001. In those cases the ISRC should be entered additionally in field 016.

Fields or other related entities

010 International Standard Book Number

The field contains the International Standard Book Number. It is sometimes difficult to decide whether a publication is a music edition or a "normal" book, or both. In these cases both an ISRC and an ISBN may be assigned.

011 International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

There are only a few periodicals of printed music, but many music publications are issued in series. Both categories should be assigned, an ISSN for the serial title and an ISRC for each individual item in the series.

013 International Standard Music Number (ISMN)

The ISMN is used for printed music.

Examples

Ex. 1:

016 ##$aFR-Z03-91-012-31

An ISRC for Phonogram France allocated in 1991.