YouTube has become a registration agency for the International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI) initiative.
As such, YouTube will now will request an ISNI, a unique identifier, to be assigned to all creators whose works are used on the platform – including performers and songwriters – which it says will help to ‘reconcile data and ensure attribution’.
ISNI is the ISO-certified global standard number for identifying millions of contributors to creative works and those active in their distribution.
YouTube intends to share ISNIs with its label and publishing partners in order to promote the adoption of this standard by the industry as a whole. The platform is the first ISNI registration agency in the music space.
“James Stewart, you say? Which one, there are at least 14 on YouTube!” says FX Nuttall, Technical Program Manager at YouTube. “
By adopting ISNI, artists, songwriters and other creators will be unambiguously identified, enabling better visibility and tracking on YouTube.
“We view this as a transformative opportunity to offer the music industry a valuable identifier scheme.”
Tim Devenport, ISNI International Agency
“Bringing the ISNI open standard to music opens the door to more accurate credit for creators, discovery for fans, and transparency for the industry.”
The main aim of ISNI is to resolve the problem of name ambiguity in search and discovery, as well as ‘diffusing each assigned ISNI across all repertoires in the global supply chain so that every published work can be unambiguously attributed to its creator’.
“We’re delighted to partner with YouTube on such an ambitious effort”, said Tim Devenport, Executive Director, ISNI International Agency.
“Many organizations active in the music sector have already shown interest in using ISNI identifiers as part of the infrastructure they need to manage rights and royalties effectively. Working closely with YouTube, ISNI is very pleased to contribute its experience and skill-sets to these critical objectives.
“We view this as a transformative opportunity to offer the music industry a valuable identifier scheme and in so doing, to deepen ISNI’s knowledge of this domain and improve its technical facilities and approaches.”
Working on behalf of ISO, the ISNI International Agency is charged with managing and promulgating the ISNI identifier system worldwide.Music Business Worldwide
