What is ISNI?
ISNI, or the International Standard Name Identifier, is a globally recognized identifier for artists and contributors such as writers, performers, and more.
Assigning an ISNI to your artists and contributors will help solve the common problem of releases being mapped to wrong profiles on DSPs when another existing artist has the same name, or a similar name, as your artist.
Using ISNI for your artists and contributors will ensure that all credited artists and contributors on a release are correctly linked to their profiles across DSPs.
This will improve the discoverability of their releases for listeners and requires just one identifier per artist or contributor, rather than multiple identifiers across various DSPs.
How to add an ISNI in FUGA Next
You can add an ISNI to Artists and People within FUGA Next by entering it into a field on the Artist or Person detail view (see images below).
When selecting an artist in your catalog, the ISNI can be added via the top right of the artist overview:
Our system will validate if the ISNI added in FUGA Next adheres to the ISNI format requirements. An ISNI should contain 16 characters, with the last character being a digit or an “X”.
When creating an artist in your FUGA catalog, you will automatically be prompted to assign the new artist an ISNI:
To assign an ISNI to a contributor, you may do so by navigating to the contributor via your Catalog > People. After selecting the contributor, you can assign an ISNI in the field underneath the contributor name.
Adding an ISNI via XML Ingestion
You can assign an ISNI to an artist or person/contributor via FUGA XML using the <isni> node.
For DDEX XML you can assign an ISNI by adding a <PartyId IsISNI="true"> node for a DisplayArtist, ResourceContributor or IndirectResourceContributor.
Please note that while DDEX technically allows multiple ISNIs to be communicated per artist or contributor, doing so will be rejected on FUGA’s end.
You can find more information in our ingestion documentation.
If you cannot access the documentation, please reach out to support@fuga.com for the credentials.
Validation in FUGA
When assigning an ISNI to an artist or person we validate the following:
- Format: We check if the ISNI matches the ISNI format requirements.
- One ISNI Per Artist/Person: An artist or person can have a maximum number of 1 ISNI associated with them in our platform.
Please note: we do not have any constraints on the following:
- Name Verification: It's important to note that we do not verify whether the artist or person's name in our FUGA system matches the name associated with the ISNI in the official ISNI database.
- Uniqueness: Our system permits linking one ISNI to several artists or individuals within a client's catalog, without restrictions.
DSPs
All DSPs that receive DDEX ERN version 3 and above (most major DPSs including Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, TIDAL etc.) and Apple Music
Please note that Apple Music still prefers Apple IDs over ISNI, so please include Apple IDs in deliveries to Apple if you have an existing Apple ID for your artist(s) and/or contributor(s).
You do not need to have ISNI to deliver to these platforms.
FAQ
Where can I find the ISNI for an artist or contributor?
You can search the ISNI database here to find an artist’s or contributor’s ISNI.
How can I obtain an ISNI?
If you would like to get an ISNI for yourself or your organization, you can contact one of the ISNI Registration Agencies that provide this service. You can find more information and a list of
agencies that assign ISNIs here.
Which DSPs support delivery of ISNI?
Any DSP supporting DDEX ERN version 3 and up can receive ISNI via deliveries through FUGA. This includes Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, TIDAL, Facebook, and Apple Music.
Is using ISNI mandatory for DSPs that support it?
No, using ISNI is not required for delivery to DSPs that support ISNI. You may continue delivering as normal, and you can continue using DSP-specific identifiers, such as Artist URIs for Spotify.
Can my sub-organizations use ISNI?
Yes, sub-organizations can assign an ISNI to any artist or contributor on releases they submit to your organization for delivery.
What do I do if an artist or person doesn’t have an ISNI?
You can request an ISNI through an ISNI Registration Agency, or continue using DSP-specific identifiers (for Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud, and Audiomack only).
Can I add multiple ISNI to an artist or person?
No, this is not possible - only one unique ISNI can be assigned to one artist or person.