Paul, you’re absolutely right. All of this still requires a lot of extra work entering from here to there. Last time I checked Tunecore it also required manual ISRC entry. I think at this point it’s more about just having the code in there somewhere, not that it’s going to pass on down the line smoothly. At some point the record labels will start asking for it in wav I think, just as they do for CD masters now. One thing that really surprised me is that the record labels or distributors don’t even use the ISRC field that’s in ID3 for their MP3s and AACs. They have their own custom fields in ID3 for the ISRC. It’s kind of crazy IMO, but I guess it works for them. You can’t buy a song off iTunes, open it up in a tag editor and look at the ISRC code in the ISRC field. It’s not there. It’s hidden in a custom field, and the field seems to be different for different retailers. CDs you can load and read the ISRC, but not AACs from iTunes or MP3s from Amazon. (at least the last time I checked a few months ago). Getting the ISRC from the Wav to the AAC or MP3 is mapping that they’re going to have to do.
The way I do it is from a montage, with a sheet like the CD report. Since I’m usually supplying album files just like the CD, it seems to work ok.