Music Producers Guild - Blog - MPG Initiative: ISRC identifier codes in audio files ...

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MPG Initiative: ISRC identifier codes in audio files

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are submitted by individuals and in no way represent the official position of the Music Producers Guild (UK), which cannot accept responsibility thereof.

Posted on January 27, 2013 @ 12:13 PM most recent comment at April 12, 2013 @ 10:42 PM

The Mastering Group of the Music Producers Guild, led by mastering engineers, Ray Staff & Barry Grint, proposes the inclusion of ISRC codes within digital audio music files.

This will bring major advantages to the music recording industry as illustrated in this recent MPG news item.

Please leave your comments below and vote either in favour or against, using the buttons above.

Comments (36)

posted 4 months ago by Nikki H

Fantastic!!! I've been waiting for this and can't wait for it to be implemented. In the future, if an app is developed to automatically pick the ISRC code somehow, it might help artists to recoup royalties that they would otherwise have lost through non-reporting of airplay. At a time when musicians are finding it really hard to make ends meet this is very welcome!

posted 4 months ago by Yoad Nevo

I am very much in favour of this idea! Great initiative.

posted 4 months ago by OD Hunte

Fantastic news. The standard should include ALL credits producers, programmers, arrangers, musicians, studio, mastering facilities and of course songwriters and the artist / label. OD Hunte

posted 4 months ago by Andy Brook

This is an immense and exciting achievement. I'm currently at Midem where many of the discussions are focused on issues arising from digital content mismanagement. One of the talks later this afternoon concerns the need for lossless formats over the MP3. This should be an intersting cat to drop among the pigeons. Andy Brook

posted 4 months ago by Stephe Meloy

Hoorah! About bloody time too! Well done to all those involved! What about MP3 and ISRC though?

posted 4 months ago by RUSSELL McNAMARA

This is most excellent! Thanks! Without wishing to sound too spoilt, any development with mp3 and ISRC?

posted 4 months ago by Maryann mendola

I'm much in favour

posted 4 months ago by Steve McCarthy-Hunt

Good. Makes total sense.

posted 4 months ago by jenna leigh-raine

finally and been told for long time there is gold in them hills for me and you

posted 4 months ago by Andy Haldane

incredible that this hasn't been the case for years!

posted 4 months ago by Jon Cotton

Brilliant news. I'll add to the chorus calling for this to be extended to mp3 and perhaps FLAC/Apple lossless/AAC - but it's a heck of a move in the right direction. Well done all.

posted 4 months ago by Joram Pinxteren

Very good news! Looking forward to the practical implementation of this achievement.

posted 4 months ago by Jeffrey de Gans

Excellent news! I get this question quite a lot and so this will be more then welcome!

posted 4 months ago by Dave McNicholas

will the software needed be open source and who will distribute it? excellent initiative

posted 4 months ago by Mike

It's about time something like this was standard I have lost so much money over the years as my songs could not be identified correctly in different market places and radio plays accounted for. I am at the small end of sales so every penny counts. BRING IT ON

posted 4 months ago by Johnny Griggs

Brilliant initiative. Long overdue and a real boost for writers.

posted 4 months ago by Stiffard

I've often been perplexed by why, in such an advanced digital age, this had never been implemented. It always seemed on a par with the industry missing the boat when the mp3 arrived. All I can say is that this is fantastic news and hats off to the MPG for taking up the cause and I will stand alongside you, giving my support where I can. This will go a long way towards bringing about stability and re-monetisation.

posted 4 months ago by Gareth

As OD Hunte says "The standard should include ALL credits producers, programmers, arrangers, musicians, studio, mastering facilities and of course songwriters and the artist / label" and let's try to extend it to all Digital Audio formats, not just .wav as Jon Cotton says "I'll add to the chorus calling for this to be extended to mp3 and perhaps FLAC/Apple lossless/AAC"

posted 4 months ago by stephen budd

Finally !! well done chaps. let me know and I'll publicise. Stephen.budd@record-producers.com

posted 4 months ago by Martin Bettridge (drewBANG)

A great achievement and an exciting announcement, proud to be a part of the MPG! These are the issues that are being dealt with behind the scenes EVERY DAY here at the MPG, any and all help and support from MPG Members and industry affiliates is what keeps the MPG alive and facilitates developments such as these... Well Done Everyone!

posted 4 months ago by Neil Pickles

A great piece of work and it's for these kind of initiatives that I joined the MPG who else is fighting our corner?

posted 4 months ago by David AShman

Great. Dont let it take 10 years to become reality. Lets get behind it.

posted 4 months ago by Phil English

Fantasic news.

posted 4 months ago by Mark Rose - MPG Vice Chair

Apart from the streaming benefits and reverse auditing/ tracking potential for all artists, wriiters, performers and producers alike with this latest MPG initiative We should ALL also insist all mastering houses putting 'jobs on hold' until client meta credit data is provided - As they would with no catalogue number a glitch/spike/Peak on materials. As for requests for flacc/.Mptwee being embedded with sane ID data - then the issue is one of insisting digital online aggregators to not strip out details from any delivered .wav content (this is a breach of our IP RIGHTS - altering/changing ownership details at any level other than from the original source/fixated final master) It is more time & effort to actually strip meta credit data details out rather than the easier task of simple migration Of both ID1 or ID2 data tables. The MPG are also releasing a one page on this issue to fully outline the benefits.

posted 4 months ago by Haydn Bendall

Excellent news. Congratulations to those involved.

posted 4 months ago by René Jacobi

Why not develop a form of audio container format that can include any codec available? I am thinking of a container such as .AVI or .MOV in the video world, where countless video and audio codecs can be embedded in those container formats. As an example, a .MOV container can include any codec from H.264 to Uncompressed Video in addition to its metadata. Translated to the audio world this would mean a new audio container format, lets call it .AUD (audio), could include ALL metadata including ISRC and have any audio codec embedded such as MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless, FLAC or WAV/AIFF. Interestingly, such a container format would be FUTURE PROOF, as any newly developed audio codecs could simply be embedded inside this .AUD container. This would be a REAL STEP FORWARD and would make life a lot easier for all of us! This idea comes from a music manager / producer / engineer ...and is of course the intellectual property of that individual. ;-) What do you think?

posted 4 months ago by Lupa

yes please to all formats: wav aiff mp3 mp4 ect ect.... great news!

posted 4 months ago by Mark Rose

Yep!!! Audio container codecs are potentially future proof - damn good call!

posted 4 months ago by teepee

These ideas are very interesting but just serve to complicate the issue. The beauty and simplicity of just having one format is surely much better. Why should we need more formats? Why can't one format evolve as new technology develops?

Ideas are nothing more than just ideas until someone takes the time and trouble to turn them into a reality. This is what the MPG Mastering Group are doing and we need to support and encourage the initiative.

posted 3 months ago by Mark Hutchinson

As a producer, Performer and REcord Company owner this all sounds great and long overdue. I'm just not sure how it would be implemented effectively. Very interested and excited to see how this one progresses.

posted 3 months ago by Michal

Pure and undeniable logic, and if done at mastering, the code will follow the file at every copy along the way, be it .wav, .mp3, .flac, .alac, .acc, or whatever. Truly a step towards a better future. Well done all...!

posted 3 months ago by wider...

On the face of it - a splendid idea. Well overdue . .

posted 2 months ago by Paul O'Neill

I'm brand new to the MPG (today in fact!) and this is VERY exciting, especially for a small fish like me. I agree with teepee above, we must all strive to support this move in any way we can - it wont happen by itself.

posted 2 months ago by MSB Mastering

Not too soon. I've been wanting this for ages. It would be great if they opened up other fields for CD text things too, rather than consumers relying on CDDB and other hit or miss databases for metadata.

posted about 1 month ago by Austin Moss

Read this in SOS a few months ago and was hoping for more in the way of technical information. Standards are fantastic. Getting the software companies to incorporate them into their products so we can all start benefiting them would be the next step I expect.

posted about 1 month ago by mickglossop

Stay tuned on this website for more news soon on this important issue

MPG Initiative: ISRC identifier codes in audio files

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