International Standard Recording Code
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Recording_Code
Overview
An ISRC identifies musical recordings independent from the distribution media, i.e. independent from a specific CD and independent from a digital music store.
Format
CC-XXX-YY-NNNNN example: AR-F04-02-00386
- CC: country code
- XXX: three character alphanumeric registrant code, uniquely identifying the organisation which registered the code.
- YY: last two digits of the year of registration
- NNNNN: specific number
Music recordings with the same ISRC can appear on different CDs. So if you suggest to a DJ he should play a specific recording you could do this via ISRC. He himself can then figure out from which CD to obtain it.
Recent CDs contain the ISRC's directly and they can be read with software.
Example
The following cue sheet was generated from a Reliquias Canaro CD (http://www.tango.info/00724354169229) : http://www.tango.info/x/cue/00724354169229-1.cue
It starts with
REM GENRE Tango REM DATE 2002 REM DISCID FC0D3214 REM COMMENT "ExactAudioCopy v0.95b4" CATALOG 0724354169229 PERFORMER "Francisco Canaro Y Su Orquesta" TITLE "Sus Éxitos Con Ernesto Famá - Reliquias" FILE "Range.wav" WAVE TRACK 01 AUDIO TITLE "Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Famá / Tormenta" PERFORMER "Francisco Canaro Y Su Orquesta" ISRC ARF040200386 INDEX 01 00:00:00 TRACK 02 AUDIO TITLE "Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Famá / Mala Suerte" PERFORMER "Francisco Canaro Y Su Orquesta" ISRC ARF043900001 INDEX 00 02:34:02 INDEX 01 02:37:47
The ISRC are
- ISRC ARF040200386 (AR-F04-02-00386)
- ISRC ARF043900001 (AR-F04-39-00001)
Both songs were issued in Argentina (AR), both from the same organisation (ARF04), the first has a year marker of for 2002 (02) the second one for 1939 (39). Some recordings have the year marker from the year the song was recorded originally, other from the year were they were re-made for the CD.
How to obtain
There seems to be no public ISRC database, but tango.info has generated cue sheets for some Reliquias CDs. http://www.tango.info/x/cue/
read from CD with EAC
(EAC = Exact Audio Copy)
- Download, install, configure, and run EAC.
- Press F9 then go to Tools tab
- Check the "Retrieve UPC / ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation"
- Load a cd in EAC
- Click Action, Create Cue Sheet > Single WAV File... (or press Alt+S) to generate the CUE sheet
Note: CUE sheets from different copies of a CD title with same title, artist, track list and barcode number have been found to have different track index values.