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SoundScan was developed as a tracking system that tracks sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. The system is presently operated by MRC Data and has been rebranded under the name Luminate. Any music product that carries a UPC or EAN barcode and ISRC code is eligible to be tracked by Luminate (formerly SoundScan). According to their website, “Sales data from point-of-sale cash registers is collected weekly from over 14,000 retail, mass merchant and non-traditional (on-line stores, venues, etc.) outlets. Weekly data is compiled and made available every Wednesday. Luminate (formerly SoundScan) is the sales source for the Billboard music charts.”
In order to have a chance at making the Billboard music charts, any release must be registered with Luminate (formerly SoundScan) using UPC number (for the whole album) and ISRC codes (for the individual tracks). Without registration, the sales figures will not be counted, and will remain invisible to the system.
Please note, that BEFORE completing your Luminate (formerly SoundScan) registration(s), you must obtain your ISRC Codes and UPC Codes. Only AFTER you have your codes purchased, can you start the Luminate (formerly SoundScan) registration of your album, audio tracks, and videos.
| Do you offer help with Luminate (formerly SoundScan) Registration of my works? |
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Absolutely! If you prefer to have us register your recordings and releases for you to be sure it's done correctly, we are available to assist. Please call us at 404-869-0701 and ask about the Luminate SoundScan Registration service.
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| Is it possible to have my sales at shows counted? |
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Absolutely! The folks over at AtVenu have a handy tool called SoundScan Reporter that permits you to report your sales from your shows. You must have valid UPC Codes for the album versions (CD, Vinyl, etc.) that you sell at your shows AND you must have FIRST successfully completed your Luminate SoundScan registration using those UPC Codes, as their system validates your registration before reporting your sales.
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| Single & Album Registration |
Here you will have to enter the UPC/EAN Code of your single or album, label details, and release information.
You will notice that the fields “Label:” and “Distribution Company:” are marked as required. We have spoken to Luminate (formerly SoundScan) about the fact that many of our independent artists do NOT have a label and/or a distribution company. In that case, Luminate (formerly SoundScan) would like you to write the word “Independent” in those fields.
Most people are confused by the “Config Detail Type” field under the "Add New UPC/EAN Code" section of the form. Remember, you can associate one UPC/EAN Code with one type of product, for example with a CD Album, or with a Digital Album for download. So, if you want both your products (CD and Digital Album) to be registered in Luminate (formerly SoundScan), you will need 2 different UPC/EAN Codes.
Please note, if your phone number is from outside the USA, Canada, or Caribbean and does not conform to the xxx-xxx-xxxx format, Luminate (formerly SoundScan) asks that you enter “000-000-0000” in the required telephone number field.
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Register a Single/Album
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| Audio Track(s) Registration |
It is important to know that here you will need BOTH the ISRC Code for the track you are registering AND the UPC/EAN Code of the album or single associated with this track. You should make a separate registration for each track you want to register.
You will notice that the fields “Label:” and “Distribution Company:” are marked as required. We have spoken to Luminate (formerly SoundScan) about the fact that many of our independent artists do NOT have a label and/or a distribution company. In that case, Luminate (formerly SoundScan) would like you to write the word “Independent” in those fields.
Luminate (formerly SoundScan) would like you to use the UPC you assigned to your Complete Album Download version of your album - NOT the UPC from the physical Audio CD version - on their ISRC registration form.
If you only have a CD version of your album and DO NOT plan to release your album as a Complete Album Download then you would only have the one UPC Code on the CD itself. Luminate (formerly SoundScan) does make an exception in this case and will allow you to use CD's UPC Code on their ISRC registration form.
Please note, if your phone number is from outside the USA, Canada, or Caribbean and does not conform to the xxx-xxx-xxxx format, Luminate (formerly SoundScan) asks that you enter “000-000-0000” in the required telephone number field.
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Register a Track
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| Music Video Registration |
Music Videos are registered in the same way and on the same form as individual audio tracks.
It is important to know that here that videos, per ISRC rules, require their own ISRC Code. (Do NOT use the ISRC from the audio track or you will be creating a duplicate registration that will conflict with your audio.) Also, the form requires both an ISRC and a UPC/EAN Code of the album or single associated with this video. (We strongly recommend getting the video its own UPC as videos are required to have their own UPCs anyway for Facebook Premium Video, Apple/iTunes, and others.)
You will notice that the fields “Label:” and “Distribution Company:” are marked as required. We have spoken to Luminate (formerly SoundScan) about the fact that many of our independent artists do NOT have a label and/or a distribution company. In that case, Luminate (formerly SoundScan) would like you to write the word “Independent” in those fields.
Please note, if your phone number is from outside the USA, Canada, or Caribbean and does not conform to the xxx-xxx-xxxx format, Luminate (formerly SoundScan) asks that you enter “000-000-0000” in the required telephone number field.
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Register a Video
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| DVD Registration |
DVDs are registered on the same form as albums. Simply find the drop-down option “Format Type:” and select VIDEO.
Then you will have to enter the UPC/EAN Code of your DVD, label details, and release information.
You will notice that the fields “Label:” and “Distribution Company:” are marked as required. We have spoken to Luminate (formerly SoundScan) about the fact that many of our independent artists do NOT have a label and/or a distribution company. In that case, Luminate (formerly SoundScan) would like you to write the word “Independent” in those fields.
Please note, if your phone number is from outside the USA, Canada, or Caribbean and does not conform to the xxx-xxx-xxxx format, Luminate (formerly SoundScan) asks that you enter “000-000-0000” in the required telephone number field.
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Register a DVD
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