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Hi all,

I'm have an album's worth of instrumental music mastered and ready to 'get out there'.

Some questions for those of you who have put out albums/tunes for yourself and/or other artists:

I'll imbed metadata into each tune (ie: title, composer).

But, should I also imbed ISWC code (from my ASCAP work registrations) on each tune?

- if I use DiskMakers, should I have them imbed an IRSC code? Would the ISWC code remain in place?
- if I use DistroKid for distribution, should I leave the IRSC coding for them to do instead of DiskMakers?
- would ISWC coding be uploaded and still stay imbedded in my audio files if DistroKid did their thing?
- does metadata imbedding only apply to mp3 audio files?

It's hard to get straight answers or find out information about this stuff.

Thanks for any ideas!

ISRC codes are easy to obtain. The fee is $95 nowadays but you pay it once and are allowed to create 100,000 codes per calendar year. I see no reason to use anyone else's. Every variation of anything you release gets its unique code.

https://www.usisrc.org/

But, should I also imbed ISWC code (from my ASCAP work registrations) on each tune?

Call ASCAP Member Services but I'd be surprised if the answer is Yes. If so, let us know. I'm a member and also worked in General Licensing till last year and never heard of that.

UPC bar codes are expensive to obtain on your own. If going through a distributor (CD baby etc.), you'll have the opportunity to use their bar codes for a few bucks a tune.

Thanks for the reply, Mike.

Having contacted CDBaby earlier, they explained what they do under their ProPublishing deal.

That essentially takes care of everything, if you're already an ASCAP member. CDBaby keeps track of the ISRC codes and the composition's ISWC code when you fill out the forms on CDBaby. Then, they keep track of the mechanical code (ISRC) and the composition code (ISWC).

No need to embed anything into the audio files going to them, as they will embed the ISRC if needed and keep track of the rest. Nice!

Watch out for publishing with CD Baby if you plan on licensing any of your stuff to libraries. Could be a significant issue. Research before your pull the trigger.

There is no way I would use anyone’s ISRC codes but mine or the client’s. Of course they keep track of the ISWC since they have to report it under any ‘pro publishing’ arrangement but your question was about embedding the code—I’ve still not heard of anyone doing that. It sounds like a good idea, however, now that ASCAP and BMI maintained a shared ISWC database.

Michael Shuman wrote: ↑Tue Nov 16, 2021 11:55 pm

mikehalloran wrote: ↑Wed Nov 10, 2021 8:07 am ISRC codes are easy to obtain. The fee is $95 nowadays but you pay it once and are allowed to create 100,000 codes per calendar year. I see no reason to use anyone else's. Every variation of anything you release gets its unique code.

https://www.usisrc.org/

But, should I also imbed ISWC code (from my ASCAP work registrations) on each tune?

Call ASCAP Member Services but I'd be surprised if the answer is Yes. If so, let us know. I'm a member and also worked in General Licensing till last year and never heard of that.

UPC bar codes are expensive to obtain on your own. If going through a distributor (CD baby etc.), you'll have the opportunity to use their bar codes for a few bucks a tune.

Fee is only about 95? I thought it is around 250

There is a link. If you click on it you'll find the price really is a one time fee of $95 — unless you need more than 100,000 per year. They tell you to contact them for that pricing.