This post is for music-geeks, producers and indie labels. I have done some research on ISRC (International Standard Record Code) and have some information I would like to share. First of all, here is a link to the ISRC handbook. More information here, here, here.

First, I found out that the ISRC is not saved into an AIF or WAV file. Rather, it is burned into an audio CD as per Redbook rules. I use the excellent Peak Pro from Bias a lot, and one of the many uses of that app is entering ISRC into a CD playlist which can then be burned as audio – the resulting CD becomes the master for CD manufacturing.

When compressing an AIF or WAV file to the mp3 format no ISRC is transferred to the mp3. Can the ISRC somehow be added to an mp3, even if it cannot be embedded as with an audio CD?

Well, I found out that there is a specific field for ISRC in the ID3v2 mp3 tagging system. Here is a link to a list of fields supported by ID3v2 tags for mp3s, you will notice that one of the fields is called TSRC (presumably Tag Standard Record Code?).

Once I learned this, I started searching for an app that would allow me to create the ISRC tag. Here is a link to the excellent Jaikoz application (Shareware – about $20) that can implement ISCR tagging for an mp3 as well as add album art to the file and much more.

We are doing this now, by the way. When you purchase and download a song from the new “Up Close: The Fritz Files” album, you will notice that the album art shows up in iTunes right away. It is already contained in the mp3 file. That the ISRC is tagged as well is not something one can see in iTunes.