What is an EAN and how does it work?

ISRC, UPC, OTP, EAN (we’ll stop with the codes now, honest)

EAN stands for ‘European Article Number’ and is a unique code that identifies a specific product.

Although identical in number and form to a UPC (Universal Product Code), an EAN is specific to Europe.

A UPC or EAN will be attributed to either a physical or digital product so that it can be identified among millions of others, and are essential in music distribution to keep tabs on your content.

When creating a release, you’ll notice RouteNote will assign it a unique product code free of charge.

If you have already had one generated for your release with a previous distributor, make sure to use your original codes to keep your statistics and play counts within streaming services!

Check out these handy videos on UPC/EAN codes below!

If you have any further queries, feel free to get in touch with us!

See also:
What is an ISRC code and how does it work?
What is a UPC and how does it work?
How do I get my ISRCs and UPCs?

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