We realize that this issue is not currently addressed in the ISRC Handbook. However, according to the ISRC International Agency bulletin on ISRC Assignment to Spoken Word Recordings:
“Registrants should normally assign one ISRC to each of the smallest units of content into which a whole recording is divided. This will be a chapter or a CD track in most instances.”
What does this mean to me?
Let’s take an example of an audio book that is divided into 10 chapters:
If you record these 10 chapters into 1 single long track then you require just 1 ISRC Code. However, this is relatively uncommon.
Most authors would record these 10 chapters individually as 10 separate tracks. In fact, Audible.com by Amazon, the largest audiobook marketplace, requires that “each uploaded audio file must contain only one chapter/section per file.” These would require 10 ISRC Codes to properly identify each uploaded chapter, section, or each track on your CD.
You may, in fact, need to get an 11th ISRC Code.
Why?
If you also distribute your audio book as a digital download, then you may combine the 10 chapters/tracks into one big downloadable file of your audio book. If you do so, then this complete audio book file would need to be identified by its own ISRC Code. (Again, this would apply only to distribution outside of Audible.com, as they require breakdown by chapter/section.)
If you are ready to order your ISRC codes, please click here. If you have additional questions about ISRC Codes for audio books, Podcast or other spoken word recordings, please don’t hesitate to contact our ISRC team at 404-869-0701.