Why Is It Important To Have Your Identifiers?
To ensure you get the credit for both writing and performing a song, you must have your identifiers in place. Without them you run the risk of not only not getting credit for your work, but also not getting paid when it played. They link you to music you've composed or performed on.
IPI, IPN and ISNI numbers are related to you and are the same for each song you're involved in creating, performing on, or both. ISRC are generated for each song your work on. ISWC codes you get for each new compostition you write.
This can all seem very confusing and overwhelming! I will pass this over to Session Studio co-founder Niclas Molinder to explain it in the below videos.
What is an IPI number?
IPI stands for Interested Parties Information. It’s a code number generated by music rights societies to identify songwriters from all around the globe. IPIs are connected to ISWC since they’re both related to publishing rights. When you first get associated with a PRO/CMO they’ll generate a unique IPI that represents you and/or your pseudonym.
What is an IPN number?
IPN stands for International Performer Number. He’s similar to an IPI but it identifies performers only. When you get associated with a CMO/PRO related to SCAPR they’ll generate automatically a IPN for you, but you have to contact them to have access to it.
Where Do I Get An IPI and IPN Number?
You get your IPI and IPN numbers from the societies in your country. Sometimes such as in the United States you have a choice of society. In this instance it's best to look at which society will work best for you. A full list of societies by country can be found On the CISAC website.
What does ISRC stand for and what is it used for?
ISRC is an acronym for International Standard Recording Code. It’s a code that helps identify the main artist and the label of a determined master recording. You can generate it through a CMO, PRO, or with your Digital Distributor, and this should always be done before releasing your music online or in physical media. This will guarantee you that every time someone plays your song on a streaming platform/public venue/radio station you’ll get recognized by your music society as the shareholder for both performance and/or mechanical rights.
What does ISWC stand for and what is it used for?
ISWC is an acronym for International Standard Work Code. It’s a unique code that identifies the original songwriters of a composition. You can have different master recordings associated with just one composition, therefore a songwriter has the share rights to every new track (new ISRC) that uses his work as a creative base for the recording. It’ll also help identify the songwriter and music publisher as shareholders of that asset, and help them to get paid.
What is an ISNI number?
ISNI is an acronym for International Standard Name Identifier. It’s a tool that identifies creators and legal entities related to different media content (master recordings, books, movies). You don’t create your ISNI through a music society, you do it through an ISNI agency that is ISO certified.
You can find more information about how to get an ISNI number on the ISNI website.