QuickUPC barcodes are an inexpensive solution for both physical and digital albums. Pandora, Amazon, CD Baby, Tunecore and iTunes all require that you have a barcode for your Digital Albums. All stores require that you have a UPC Barcode (or EAN outside of the United States and Canada).
QuickUPC supplies UPC and EAN barcode. We do not supply ISRC codes.
ISRC codes are used to track the sales of single tracks through digital distribution outlets like iTunes.
An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a unique ‘digital fingerprint’ that stays with an individual recorded track, no matter whether there are any changes in the ownership of the track.
All of the ISRC’s should be added to your recording when you are mastering the album. They can also be added at the time of encoding by the digital aggregator or distributor used to deliver your recorded content.
The ISRC codes also help to track plays/royalties through Internet and Satellite radio.
The UPC or EAN barcode represents the entire digital product. The UPC/EAN number can be embedded (but is not required) into the digital album at the mastering stage. The barcode is also attached to the album in some way, either by your graphic designer at the time you are creating your physical album artwork, or after the fact by affixing labels.
You can apply for an ISRC code from the RIAA.
According to Wikipedia (Open Source Encyclopedia – used by permission) the definition of a barcode is: a machine-readable (uses dark ink on white substrate to create high and low reflectance which is converted to 1′s and 0′s) representation of information in a visual format on a surface. Originally barcodes stored data in the widths and spacings of printed parallel lines, but today they also come in patterns of dots, concentric circles, and hidden within images. Barcodes can be read by optical scanners called barcode readers or scanned from an image by special software. Barcodes are widely used to implement Auto ID Data Capture (AIDC) systems that improve the speed and accuracy of computer data entry. http://www.wikipedia.com
If you are going to create a physical or digital product, you need a barcode.
Once you buy your barcode from QuickUPC and we send you your barcode, you can access Nielsen Soundscan here to register your title here.
What is Soundscan?
Nielsen SoundScan is an information system that tracks sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. Sales data from point-of-sale cash registers is collected weekly from over 14,000 retail, mass merchant and non-traditional (on-line stores, venues, etc.) outlets. Weekly data is compiled and made available every Wednesday. Nielsen SoundScan is the sales source for the Billboard music charts. SoundScan is only able to track those CDs that have a UPC or EAN bar code.