Barcodes for music
Nationwide Barcode are partners with Indie Artists Alliance and www.imuzic.com
Click here to JOIN THE INDIE ARTISTS ALLIANCE/iMUZIC.com mailing list for resources, calls-for-music and much more

 

Nationwide Barcode is the suggested supplier for Pandora for digital distribution and is the largest supplier of Barcodes for Amazon Resellers.
Nationwide Barcode supplies UPC and EAN barcode. We do not supply ISRC codes.

ISRC codes are used to track the sales of single tracks through digital distribution outlets like iTunes.

An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a unique ‘digital fingerprint’ that stays with an individual recorded track, no matter whether there are any changes in the ownership of the track.

All of the ISRC’s should be added to your recording when you are mastering the album. They can also be added at the time of encoding by the digital aggregator or distributor used to deliver your recorded content.

The ISRC codes also help to track plays/royalties through Internet and Satellite radio.

The UPC or EAN barcode represents the entire digital product. The UPC/EAN number can be embedded (but is not required) into the digital album at the mastering stage. The barcode is also attached to the album in some way, either by your graphic designer at the time you are creating your physical album artwork, or after the fact by affixing labels.(Need labels? Look here)

You can apply for an ISRC code from the RIAA.

According to Wikipedia (Open Source Encyclopedia - used by permission) the definition of a barcode is: a machine-readable (uses dark ink on white substrate to create high and low reflectance which is converted to 1's and 0's) representation of information in a visual format on a surface. Originally barcodes stored data in the widths and spacings of printed parallel lines, but today they also come in patterns of dots, concentric circles, and hidden within images. Barcodes can be read by optical scanners called barcode readers or scanned from an image by special software. Barcodes are widely used to implement Auto ID Data Capture (AIDC) systems that improve the speed and accuracy of computer data entry. http://www.wikipedia.com

If  you are going to create a physical or digital product, you need a barcode.
Once you buy your barcode from Nationwide Barcode and we send you your barcode, come back here and download the Nielsen Soundscan Title Addition Form.

Nielsen SoundScan is an information system that tracks sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. Sales data from point-of-sale cash registers is collected weekly from over 14,000 retail, mass merchant and non-traditional (on-line stores, venues, etc.) outlets. Weekly data is compiled and made available every Wednesday. Nielsen SoundScan is the sales source for the Billboard music charts

What is Soundscan?
Nielsen SoundScan is an information system that tracks sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. Sales data from point-of-sale cash registers is collected weekly from over 14,000 retail, mass merchant and non-traditional (on-line stores, venues, etc.) outlets. Weekly data is compiled and made available every Wednesday. Nielsen SoundScan is the sales source for the Billboard music charts. SoundScan is only able to track those CDs that have a UPC or EAN bar code.

Download and fill out the SoundScan
Title Addition Sheet:
Download U.S. Word version
Download Canada Word version

 (right click on a version and select "Save Target As..")
The Title Addition Sheet can be submitted to the Soundscan Database Department by email at dbase@soundscan.com  Once a title is submitted to SoundScan, it can take up to 10-15 business days for it to be entered into the system. Once entered, the title has the ability to be tracked by SoundScan.
Note: In order to find out if a title is already registered with SoundScan, you may contact Client Services by email at clientservices@soundscan.com  (If emailed please include the full UPC or EAN code), or call us at (914) 684-5525. For further questions visit the SoundScan website at http://www.soundscan.com 

We guarantee authentic UPC or EAN Barcodes:
100% Quality Control.
 - Low, Low Prices
- No Additional Charges/No Renewal Fees
 - Same Day Service
(if order placed before 5pm PST M-F)
 - EPS, 600 dpi JPG & 600 dpi TIF
 - Certificate of Ownership/Authenticity
...all e-mailed to you
Guaranteed one-of-a-kind
We never recycle our numbers.
Once purchased -- you own the numbers
Includes number(s), Certificate of Ownership/ Authenticity, 600 dpi JPG, 600 dpi TIF and Vector EPS.
(orders of 10 barcodes or more get an excel barcode tracking sheet)


VideoScan
VideoScan and ACNielsen (a partnership since January 2000, and sister companies under the VNU banner since 2001) seamlessly integrate point-of-sale (POS) data collected by both companies to provide a comprehensive view of the VHS and DVD sell-through business.
VideoScan, a leader in video market research since 1993, manages the business on behalf of the partnership. With its strong history and relationships with studios and electronic/specialty retailers, VideoScan provides industry-wide expertise and perspective.
ACNielsen, the leader in data services to the consumer packaged goods industry, brings its powerful analytic capabilities and broad coverage of the discount mass, grocery and drug retailers to the partnership.
Together, VideoScan and ACNielsen are the acknowledged leader in consumer research for the VHS and DVD sell-through industry. The partnership between VideoScan and ACNielsen is known as Nielsen VideoScan. Sell-through POS (consumer purchase) sales data are collected weekly from traditional channels of video distribution including mass merchants, audio/video and video specialty retailers, electronics outlets, grocery stores, drug stores, and some Internet sites. Nielsen VideoScan maintains this weekly POS data in one of the largest databases of VHS and DVD products in the country. Data is collected on more than 40,000 VHS items and 12,000 DVD items. Virtually every UPC or EAN code in sell-through release since 1993 can be found in our extensive database. Complete sales data in all retail channels are available as far back as January 1999 (however Wal*Mart data is included only through 7/28/01). Prior to January 1999, limited information is available in most channels going back to 1993. Nielsen VideoScan's VHS and DVD sell-through data are made available through the Nielsen VideoScan web site and the ACNielsen NITRO data delivery system.
Some of the types of reports they have available: Title Reports with sales for each title categorized nationally, regionally (by DMA) and by retail channel. Sales History Reports providing week-by-week title sales since 1999 or release date (if later). Summary Reports providing industry overviews comparing sales from previous years as well as weekly comparisons to the prior year. Market Share Reports giving annual and weekly market shares by distributor/label. Top 100 Charts for numerous categories rank the top titles by unit sales. Charts are available for the current week's sales or for cumulative year-to-date sales. Prior year-end charts are also available. Chart categories include distributors and selected genres.
While most of their clients choose annual subscriptions, they also work with customers on a project-by-project basis. they can handle everything from sophisticated marketing and sales research and planning to simple one title sales ad-hoc requests. Nielsen VideoScan's VHS and DVD sales charts are currently published in Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Video Store Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and others. For more information contact: http://www.videoscan.com/contact.html