A UPC barcode is a 12-digit serial number that identifies your product among all the others in the marketplace. A UPC barcode is required for every submission.
We will cover the following topics in this article:
- A UPC’s importance
- If possible, please use your own
- How can you tell if you have one?
- How to get a CD Baby UPC barcode
- CD Baby offers the benefit of purchasing a UPC barcode
- GS1 provides a prefix for UPCs, right?
Enjoy!
Table of Contents
Is a UPC Necessary?
For these purposes, you’ll need a UPC:
- Become a member of our digital distribution program
- Distribute our products in-store
- Your sales should be reported to SoundScan by CD Baby
- Participate in the monetization of social videos
The UPCs code is the basis for tracking and reporting sales in all of these organisations.
What if I Have My Own UPC?
When you sign up with us, you can enter the UPC code you already have for your album.
Am I Assigned a UPC? If so, What is it?
Chances are you bought a UPC barcode from the manufacturer as well if you have already had CD/Vinyl printed or plan on having them printed. When you sign up with CD Baby, you should be using the UPC barcode for your album. Did you purchase a mega bundle through one of our sister companies? That’s right, you’ve got a barcode! You can reach out to your project manager at their company if you do not know what these numbers are.
CD Baby Offers UPCs, Can I get One?
During the sign-up process, you will be given the option to purchase a UPC if you don’t already have one. You will pay us $20 if you are submitting an album and $5 if you are submitting a single.
We require that you create a CD Baby account, fill out information about your album or single, and pay the submission fee and barcode fee at checkout if you want a UPC.
It takes just a few hours for us to create your barcode, and we’ll email you when it’s ready and assigned to your project. We provide you with a BITMAP graphic file that you can use for your album art, or print on stickers. We do not provide printing services. We simply provide you with the unique UPC barcode graphic and digits.
How Does CD Baby’s UPC Offer you Benefits?
You will own a barcode forever if you purchase it from us. If a retail store scans the barcode on your CD, it will display your album, your band, and your record company on the register. Not CD Baby.
Is it Possible to Purchase my own UPC Prefix from GS1?
UPC barcodes cost 750 dollars, as you may have heard. It would cost you $750 to become a member of GS1 US, and you would register as a company with the organisation. The UPC prefix would be assigned to you, and thousands of products could be released under that company registration.
Most independent artists release only a few records – and paying $750 wipes out the profit from your first 100 album sales.