According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and the UK-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the Global Release Identifier (GRid) is effectively an electronic version of the Universal Product Code (UPC), the bar code that currently identifies all products in shops.
However, the electronic version is, according to the music industry, designed with "a massively increased capacity," with a single identifier giving any individual company using the system the potential to allocate codes for over 30 million different releases.
GRid will not replace existing identification systems such as the UPC or International Standard Recording Code (ISRC), but support their use.
The GRid identifiers will be attached to each music album and multimedia package downloaded or streamed from record labels, and on-line music retailers and services, and will be reported back to rights societies and collection agencies, who collect royalties on behalf of copyright owners.
Re-sellers or web sites selling this music content will be charged approximately £150 per year to use the new tracking system.
The music industry reportedly denied that the GRid system is intended to keep track of music being offered for downloads on on-line file-swapping services.
More information on GRid is available at:
http://212.134.114.163/grid/