Identifiers

ISRC & UPC lookup

Resolve an ISRC to the exact Spotify recording, or a UPC to the release it identifies. Built for royalty platforms, label catalog QA, music supervision and content matching at scale.

Try

GET /isrc_lookup?isrc=

Supported marketsISO 3166-1 country codes, from GET /markets

No markets came back from that call.

What is an ISRC?

An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a 12-character globally unique identifier assigned to every individual sound recording. Defined by ISO 3901, the format is country code (2) + registrant (3) + year (2) + designation (5) — for example, USRC11600981 resolves, on the button above, to exactly one recording: BIA's Whip It.

Each remix, remaster, live version, and cover gets its own ISRC, even if the song or composition is the same. ISRCs are how royalty collection societies, streaming platforms, and rights holders identify the exact recording that was played, sold, or licensed. The /isrc_lookup endpoint takes any ISRC and returns the matching Spotify track ID along with metadata, audio preview links, and the full release context.

What is a UPC?

A UPC (Universal Product Code) — and its global cousin EAN — is a 12 or 13-digit barcode that uniquely identifies a product release. In the music industry, UPCs identify albums, singles, and EPs at the release level, not the individual track.

Where ISRC = recording, UPC = release. A single album with 12 tracks has one UPC and twelve ISRCs. The /upc_lookup endpoint resolves any UPC to its Spotify album, returning the cover art, track listing, label, and release date — exactly what you need to reconcile distributor exports, validate label catalogs, or map physical inventory to digital streams.

Use cases

  • Royalty distribution

    Match streaming reports to your catalog by ISRC for accurate royalty payouts.

  • Content matching

    Resolve UGC and partner feeds against the canonical Spotify release.

  • Music licensing

    Verify a recording is the exact version cleared in your sync agreement.

  • Rights management

    Build authoritative rights ledgers keyed off industry-standard identifiers.

  • Label catalog QA

    Audit distribution by spot-checking ISRC/UPC consistency across DSPs.

  • Music supervision

    Confirm exact takes for film, TV and ad placements before clearance.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between ISRC and UPC?

ISRC identifies a single sound recording (one track). UPC identifies a release (an album, EP or single product). One album has one UPC and as many ISRCs as it has tracks.

Do all Spotify tracks have an ISRC?

Every commercially distributed recording on Spotify has an ISRC assigned by the label or distributor. User-generated audio (podcasts, some indie uploads) may not have one.

Can the same song have multiple ISRCs?

Yes. Each remix, remaster, live performance and re-recording is a different recording, so each gets its own ISRC. The same composition can appear under dozens of ISRCs.

What's the format of an ISRC?

12 characters: country code (2 letters) + registrant code (3 alphanumeric) + year (2 digits) + designation code (5 digits). For example USRC11600981 = US registrant RC1, 2016, designation 00981.

Why does my UPC have leading zeros?

GTIN-12 UPCs are 12 digits; some catalogs pad them to 13 (EAN-13) or 14 (GTIN-14) by prepending zeros. The lookup endpoint accepts either form and normalizes internally.

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