Person Identifiers: ISNI, IPN, and IPI in Velveteen
Updated June 11, 2026
Person records carry three industry identifier fields: ISNI, IPN, and IPI. Each serves a different purpose in the music rights ecosystem. None are required, but missing identifiers reduce the accuracy of royalty routing for the people you credit on tracks.
The three identifiers
ISNI
International Standard Name Identifier. Identifies a person globally across music, publishing, and academic contexts. Used for name disambiguation: useful if the person shares a name with others. Free to register at isni.org.
IPN
International Performer Number. Issued by performer collecting societies. Required by some societies to route performance royalties to session musicians and featured performers.
IPI
Interested Parties Information number. Issued by PROs (SOCAN, ASCAP, BMI, PRS, etc.) to registered composers and lyricists. Required for performance and mechanical royalty collection on compositions.
When to fill each in
Fill in IPI when…
The person is a composer or lyricist registered with a PRO. Without IPI, the PRO cannot automatically match their songwriting credits to royalty distributions.
Fill in IPN when…
The person is a session performer or featured artist who is registered with a performer collecting society and actively collects performance royalties.
Fill in ISNI when…
The person has a common name, is well-known across multiple fields, or you want to ensure disambiguation in delivery metadata.
Tip
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my IPI number?+
Your IPI is issued by your PRO (Performing Rights Organisation) when you register as a songwriter. Log into your PRO's member portal. It is displayed on your membership profile. Common PROs: SOCAN (Canada), ASCAP, BMI, SESAC (USA), PRS (UK), APRA AMCOS (Australia/NZ).
How do I get an IPN?+
IPN is issued by some national performer collecting societies (Re:Sound in Canada, PPL in the UK). Not all countries issue IPNs. Check with the performer collecting society in your country.
Do I need all three identifiers?+
No. Use only the identifiers that apply to the person. Composers and lyricists need IPI. Performers claiming performance royalties may need IPN. ISNI is useful for disambiguation but rarely required.
What if a collaborator has none of these identifiers?+
You can still create the person record and leave the identifier fields blank. The credit will be included in the delivery payload by name only. If they later register with a PRO or collecting society, add the identifier to the record and it will flow through on the next delivery.
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