What Is An ISNI And Why Does It Matter To Content Creators?

Universal Music Group just became the first of the big three major labels to adopt the ISNI, an international code used to help identify creators of digital works. The code, which stands for the International Standard Name Identifier, is instrumental in helping give credit to content creators for their work globally. 

Let's look at what an ISNI is and why creators need to be aware of these codes, along with things like ISRCs and ISBNs. 

What Is An ISNI?

An ISNI is a unique code given to every creator in order to help identify them as a contributor to a piece of content. In practice, it's a 16-character code comprised almost entirely of numbers. The last character is known as a "check" character and is either typically an X or a decimal digit. So a sample ISNI might look like this: 000000012145438X

It is, in practice, similar to some other codes you might have heard of. Like an ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) if you're a musician or somebody who works with sound recordings, or an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) if you're an author. Compared to ISBNs and ISRCs, which were introduced in 1970 and 1986 respectively, the ISNI is a fairly new standard, introduced in March 2012. 

What Is An ISNI Used For?

There are several important functions of an ISNI, but one is to provide a single unique code that can identify a creator's contribution across multiple mediums. For instance, a musician who is also an author will have separate ISRCs and ISBNs for codes their works, but a single ISNI can identify them across both of those things.

It can then be extended to all kinds of other content and authorship. This means creators can also use their pseudonyms, stage names, and other titles for the public-facing work while still being sure to be identified as a contributor in the systems responsible for tracking the works. 

Ultimately, that means you can be sure to get paid for what you do. While it can be very difficult to track the usage of your content globally, your ISNI is a code that helps you stay aware of places your content may be used — and therefor needs to be compensated for.

Adoption Of The ISNI

Universal Music Group just announced its adoption of the ISNI, a "digital passport" to help artists track their contributions. This makes UMG the first major label to do so, and may indicate a major inflection point in the adoption of the ISNI. 

UMG has already assigned ISNIs to more than 100,000 creators in its database, ensuring that they have a way of finding where their content is being used. This number includes most artists, songwriters, and musicians involved with UMG releases in the past five years, according to Billboard. 

Prior to UMG, one of the largest companies to adopt the ISNI was YouTube, which began issuing the numbers to creators in 2018. As of May 2023, an estimated 13.3 million creators have been given ISNI numbers. Which is a great start — though it still pales in comparison to the number of estimated content creators globally. 

Why Does It Matter To Creators? 

As the world of content creation continues to expand both in terms of reach, financial impact, and number of creators, it's more important than ever to make sure you're being credited for your work. The ISNI is another example of a unique identifier that creators should be utilizing in order to cross-reference places their works may show up across the globe. 

Data is, after all, the "currency behind the currency" in content creation. Without access to good clean data, it's almost impossible to get everything you're owed. (And for some of the shadier corners of creative industries, that was kind of the point). 

If you're not sure if you have an ISNI, a great place to start is by going to the official website database search. If you don't have an ISNI, there are ways to get one, which you can learn more about here. 

Even if all you do for the time being is sign up, it's a better start than not having one. As more and more organizations and platforms adopt ISNI recognition, it's a number you'll likely want to commit to memory.