Master Formats & ISRC
Digital Distribution and Downloads
If you're releasing your music digitally, all you’ll need from us are mastered WAV files. These are the files you'll upload to your distributor, who will pass them on to streaming platforms and download stores. From there, each platform creates its own delivery formats (such as AAC, MP3, or Ogg Vorbis) by encoding the WAVs to suit their specific requirements.
By default, we supply HD (High Definition) masters – WAV files at 24-bit and at the highest sample rate available from your mix. This is the highest quality option and is compatible with streaming services that offer lossless or hi-res audio. While “HD” is a borrowed term from video, in audio it simply refers to anything higher in resolution than CD – that is, higher than 16-bit/44.1kHz, sometimes referred to as SD (Standard Digital).
SD (Standard Digital) WAV files at 16 bit, 44.1kHz are also available of course as this is still the default format for some distributors. If you need these, do let us know as it’s best to have us do the conversion for you.
We can also embed metadata (track number, artist name, title, ISRC, etc.) into Broadcast WAV (BWF) files on request.
CD Masters: DDPi
For CD production, we supply a DDPi (Disc Description Protocol image) – the industry-standard production master for CD manufacturing.
A DDPi is a set of files that define the CD’s content and structure, including audio and metadata. It cannot be played on standard consumer devices, but it’s a highly robust format with built-in MD5 checksums, which allow 100% data integrity verification. As long as the checksum matches, you can be sure that the master hasn’t been altered.
- CD-Text
CD-Text allows for limited metadata – such as track titles and artist names – to be read by some CD players, especially in-car systems. - Gracenote
Note that CD-Text is not used by software players like Apple Music or Windows Media Player. These platforms pull metadata from online databases, such as Gracenote, and require an internet connection. Registering your CD information with Gracenote is your responsibility and can be done via iTunes or Apple Music on your own computer. - DDP Player
We can provide free DDP Player software, which allows you to preview your DDP master, check all metadata, and burn reference or promo CDs if you have access to a CD drive.
ISRC
An ISRC is a unique identifier for each individual recording. It’s primarily used for tracking airplay and usage, making it easier for collecting societies to allocate broadcast royalties. ISRCs can be embedded in your CD masters and also in digital WAV files.
An ISRC consists of 12 characters, and looks like this:
GB-ABC-26-00001
The first 5 characters are unique to the registrant - i.e. the owner or exclusive licensee of the recording, and are often referred to as the “prefix”. The next two numbers would be the year of registration (the last two digits of the calendar year), and the last 5 would be a number that the registrant allocates to a given song, in the example “00001” probably being the first song on the first album or single the registrant releases that year.
The registrant is usually the recording’s owner or exclusive licensee – which could be an individual artist, a label, or a distributor. Many self-releasing artists will have ISRCs assigned by their distributor, but if you’d like to allocate your own, UK rights holders can apply via the PPL, while international clients can visit the IFPI website, where you can find contact details for your local agency wherever you are in the world.