UPC: The Universal Product Code

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 06/11/2012 17:58:56

The Universal Product Code (UPC) is a barcode symbology (i.e., a specific type of barcode), that is widely used in North America, and in countries including the UK, Australia, and New Zealand for tracking trade items in stores.

In order to have your physical album in retail stores, you need a UPC. Many independent services like CDBaby offer UPC's for a very inexpensive price. But if you obtain a UPC from an indepedent service, the UPC code's "prefix" will be registered to that company, not you individually.

The "GS1" organization handles membership and registration for barcodes.

To register for membership go here: http://www.gs1us.org

For information about UPC's visit: http://www.gs1us.org/get-started/i-need-a-barcode

To learn how to create a graphical barcode from your number after registering visit: http://www.gs1us.org/resources/tools/data-driver

Quick note: Registering for a UPC from GS1 is VERY expensive.