You can now register ISRC codes in TONO

As a contribution to strengthening the quality of our data, TONO has now developed a solution that means that members who wish to do so can register recording codes in their TONO-registered works. “Linking work codes and recording codes will strengthen the quality of TONO’s metadata, and is particularly important with regard to revenues from the online field,” says Jan Espen Storo, who heads TONO’s membership department.

/ 27/06/2023 / Willy Martinsen

All musical works registered in TONO are assigned an ISWC code, a code for each work, which constitutes the work's ID number. The ISWC code is an international standard used by collective management societies worldwide, and is central to the work of managing rights in musical works.

All recordings have an ISRC code.

All works that are recorded and released, for example on streaming services, are assigned a 12-digit recording code, called ISRC. This code is central to both the recording rights and the income from them – from distributors and record labels. In Norway, Gramo issues ISRC codes, but distributors such as Distrokid, CD Baby and so on can also issue ISRC codes.

TONO has no involvement in either the issuance or management of ISRC codes, but has now nevertheless opened up the opportunity for TONO members to register the ISRC codes they have received from, for example, Gramo in TONO.

– Members who have recorded and released music have received ISRC codes for their recordings from Gramo or distributors. If they wish to register the recording codes for their works in TONO, they can now do so. This is not a requirement from TONO, but registering ISRC codes in TONO will strengthen our metadata. It will be a positive contribution to ensuring the quality of the reports we receive from the streaming services, so that we can ensure the precision of the settlements to members, says Jan Espen Storo, head of TONO's membership department.

– By registering ISRC codes with TONO, you are helping to strengthen TONO's metadata, which can contribute to even more precise billing, says TONO's membership manager, Jan Espen Storo.

ISRC codes can be registered in TONO at the same time as registering new works, but you can also register ISRC codes for works already registered in TONO.

– A work can be recorded in many versions, by many different artists. The work has only one ISWC code, but each of the recordings has a unique ISRC code. The world's most "covered" song, Yesterday, has been recorded in more than 1600 versions. One ISWC code and more than 1600 ISRC codes. If you want to register ISRC codes in TONO, but do not have an overview of the ISRC codes, you can use a reference work such as isrcfinder.com, says Storo.

Gramo is the Norwegian player that can issue ISRC codes, and has established a page that explains in detail what ISRC is. You can find that page here..