New electronic identifier helps develop legitimate online music market

February 10, 2003

The international recording industry today launched a new identification system to facilitate and simplify the electronic delivery of music on the Internet.

The Global Release Identifier (GRid) is an important step in developing legitimate and efficient delivery of music online.

As music is increasingly being offered in electronic formats, it is important to be able to accurately track and identify what music has been created, assigned, licensed and distributed.

GRid is the international recording industry's standard for the identification of releases of music for electronic distribution. It can identify singles, album tracks, groups of tracks and multi-media releases that are distributed electronically.

The system is open to everyone involved in the delivery of audio content including record companies, third party distributors such as legitimate online music services, and retailers.

GRid is effectively an electronic version of the Universal Product Code (UPC) that currently identifies all CDs - but the electronic version is designed with a massively increased numbering capacity. One identifier gives any individual company using the system the potential to allocate codes for in excess of 30 million different releases.

GRid will not replace existing identification systems such as the UPC or International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) - it has been designed to work alongside those already in use across the music industry. It supports use of the ISRC as any electronic release containing sound or music video recordings has to have ISRC codes assigned to it before a GRid number can be allocated.

GRid is the result of IFPI and RIAA participation in the Music Industry Integrated Identifiers Project (MI3P), set up in January 2001, which included the music rights societies BIEM and CISAC.

IFPI will administer the system on behalf of the global recording industry. Users of the GRid system who wish to issue GRid codes will pay an annual fee of UK£150.00 to the GRid Registration Agency - a role that will be played by IFPI.

For further information please contact
Fiona Harley at IFPI on tel: +44 (0)20 7878 7900,
or Jonathan Lamy at RIAA on tel: +1 202 775 0101

Visit the GRid website at: www.ifpi.org/grid