Teosto’s members now have the international ISNI identifier
The ISNI identifier, which is assigned to every composer, lyricist and arranger, facilitates the identification of authors, improves the quality of metadata and makes it easier to allocate royalties, especially in international contexts. ISNI is the common identifier for all creative industries, which also helps to improve cooperation between different organisations and creative industries.
Teosto’s music creator members can now see their own ISNI identifier in Teosto’s web service. The 16-digit identifier is displayed next to the IPI number in Teosto’s web service.
You can also check your ISNI from the international database at isni.org/page/search-database. The ISNI database combines data from several data providers and data from public sources. The work listings included in the data are examples.
The ISNI identifier supplements the music creator’s IPI number but does not replace it – the IPI number will continue to be Teosto’s primary author identifier, which will be assigned to the music creator immediately when they become a Teosto member. The music creator will receive an ISNI identifier when the first distribution is made to them.
ISNI brings the global creative industry together
ISNI (International Standard Name Identifier) is an international identifier for individuals and organisations in the creative industry. It can be used to uniquely identify composers, lyricists, performers, publishers, producers and visual artists, for example.
Only one ISNI identifier is assigned for each author’s public persona, which allows the author to be identified in all contexts. ISNI compiles variations and forms of the name of the same person or organisation (for example, different transliterations of the same name) and can be used to distinguish between individuals and organisations with the same name.
As a standard global identifier, ISNI improves the quality of metadata crossing creative industries and, thus, makes it easier to allocate royalties to the right authors, particularly in streaming services and international use. In addition, ISNI reduces various errors, such as confusion between authors with the same name or failing to identify works, and creates the conditions for more effective international cooperation.
The use of ISNI in the music industry is increasing
Teosto’s members have been assigned ISNI identifiers as part of an EU-funded ISNI project, which also included other copyright societies, such as Gramex, APFI, Kopiosto, Sanasto and Kuvasto. The project was coordinated by the National Library of Finland, which acts as the national ISNI registration agency in Finland.
Nearly 100,000 ISNI identifiers have been assigned to Finnish creators, of which about 36,000 are music authors and Teosto members.
The use of ISNI in the music industry is becoming more common, and several record labels and music service providers, for example, are in the process of starting to use the identifier. Teosto and Gramex are among the first organisations in the music industry to start using the identifier. Teosto, Gramex and DDEX, which creates digital music value chain standards, have already started work to survey the opportunities offered by the ISNI identifier and to improve their services with the help of ISNI.
For more information, please contact Teosto’s customer service.
Learn more about ISNI in the project’s comprehensive information package.
Go to the website of the ISNI International Agency
Frequently asked questions about the ISNI identifier
ISNI (International Standard Name Identifier) is an international identifier for individuals and organisations in the creative industry. ISNI uniquely identifies individuals and organisations associated with any creative work, including writers, composers, performers, visual artists, performers, producers and publishers.
ISNI improves the quality of metadata, which makes it easier to allocate royalties to the right authors. This is particularly important when it comes to streaming services and international music use. ISNI also improves the exchange of information between different creative industry organisations. This can reduce errors, such as confusion between authors with the same name or failing to identify works or authors, and, thus, improve the accuracy of the distribution.
ISNI is used by streaming services, libraries, publishers and copyright societies, among others. It is an open and secure identifier that can be used widely in different sectors. Teosto does not use ISNI for anything yet, but, in the future, ISNI will make possible things like the exchange of information between different organisations and the better identification of unidentified works.
ISNI identifiers are applied for from the ISNI International Agency, which also maintains an international database. In Finland, this work is coordinated by the National Library of Finland. A list of national ISNI operators is available on the ISNI website.
Teosto has acquired ISNI identifiers for about 36,000 music creators in Finland. The identifier is only assigned to individuals, i.e. at this stage it is not assigned to publishers, for example. Furthermore, no ISNI has been assigned to, for example, rightholders who are minors or heirs.
Your ISNI identifier is displayed next to your IPI number in Teosto’s web service. In addition, you can search for your identifier in the international open database at https://isni.org/page/search-database/, where you can also request corrections to your data.
The IPI number is the international identifier of a music creator that is associated with Teosto membership. ISNI, on the other hand, operates across industry boundaries and is also used in other creative sectors, such as literature and visual arts. As a system that covers all creative industries, ISNI is better at enabling diverse creative work and cooperation between different organisations.
No, IPI will continue to be Teosto’s primary authors identifier for now. However, in addition to an IPI, each music creator now also has an ISNI, which, in some cases, can help to identify, for example, unidentified works and authors, especially in international contexts.
The ISNI identifier belongs to the same identifier family as, for example, the ISBN and ISRC identifiers. The ISNI consists of 16 characters and is written with spaces (0000 0001 2147 8925) or without spaces (0000000121478925).
New members will be assigned an ISNI identifier when they receive their first distribution.
No, the identifier is assigned through Teosto and does not require any action from the music creator. Teosto’s members will be assigned an ISNI identifier when they receive their first distribution.
No, the aim of the system is that one person only has one ISNI, even if they are, for example, a writer, a music creator and a visual artist. ISNI compiles variations and forms of the name of the same person or organisation (for example, different transliterations of the same name) and can be used to distinguish between individuals and organisations with the same name.
In this project, the National Library of Finland and the ISNI International Agency have processed the data of Teosto’s music creator members that is required for assigning ISNI identifiers in accordance with the service agreement between Teosto and the National Library of Finland.
