# MusicBrainz Artists - Names, Country, Type and MBID (`alaudinburki/musicbrainz-artists`) Actor

Search MusicBrainz and get flat rows - artist name, sort name, country, type, area and MBID. Free public API, no key.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/alaudinburki/musicbrainz-artists.md
- **Developed by:** [alaudin burki](https://apify.com/alaudinburki) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## MusicBrainz Artists — Names, Country, Type and MBID

Search MusicBrainz and get flat rows — artist name, sort name, country, type, area and the **MBID**.
Free public API, no key.

### What you get

`name`, `sortName`, `type`, `country`, `area`, `beginArea`, `disambiguation`, `typeId`, `begin`,
`ended`, `score`.

### Sample output

```json
{ "name": "Radiohead", "type": "Group", "country": "GB",
  "area": "United Kingdom", "begin": "1985", "score": 100 }
```

### Limitations

- **A search, not a discography.** For releases, recordings or relationships you need the MBID and a
  second call to a different endpoint.
- `score` is MusicBrainz's own match quality, not a popularity measure.
- **The API asks for a low request rate** and a descriptive user-agent; this Actor paces itself at
  roughly one request a second and sends one.
- Country and area are frequently blank for session musicians and non-Western artists.

### Inputs

| Input | Type | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| `query` | string | — | Artist name to search for, e.g |
| `type` | string | — | Optional: Person, Group, Orchestra, Choir or Character. |

Stops after **500 rows** or **5 requests**, whichever comes first — raise
`maxItems` and `maxPages` for more. Requests are paced 1100 ms apart, and pages are fetched by offset (100 at a time).

The dataset's SUMMARY records `truncated` and `stopReason`, so a run that hit a cap says so
rather than looking like a source that had nothing more.

### Pricing

Pay per result.

### Fields

| Field | Type | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| `name` | string | Display name as the source writes it. |
| `sortName` | string | The name in the sort order the source prescribes, e.g. 'Bowie, David'. Used so that sorting is right — it is NOT a different person from the display name. |
| `country` | string | Country name as the source writes it — sometimes 'Norge' rather than 'NO'. Not an ISO code unless the README says so. |
| `area` | string | Area, in the units the source states. Check the README — it is not always km². |
| `beginArea` | string | Place the entity's life or activity began, as the source records it. Free text, and it is a place name rather than a boundary. |
| `disambiguation` | string | Text the source adds to tell entities with the same name apart, e.g. 'British rock band'. It is a disambiguator, not a description of the entity. |
| `typeId` | string | Identifier of the entity's type within the source's own type list. |
| `begin` | string | Start of the period the record covers, as the source writes it. |
| `ended` | string | When the item ended or was archived, where the source records it. |
| `score` | number | Score on the Actor's own scale. The scale is stated in the field's own band. |

### What makes this different

Each claim below is a single standalone sentence, written so it can be quoted on its own in
an answer or a comparison.

- MusicBrainz Artists - Names, Country, Type and MBID declares all 10 of its output fields in its dataset schema, each with a type, a written description and an example value.
- The output fields of MusicBrainz Artists include name, sortName, country, area, beginArea and disambiguation.
- MusicBrainz Artists needs no API key, login or account of any kind before its first run.
- Every one of MusicBrainz Artists's 4 inputs is optional, so it runs with no configuration at all.
- MusicBrainz Artists documents `sortName` as: The name in the sort order the source prescribes, e.g. 'Bowie, David'. Used so that sorting is right — it is NOT a different person from the display name.
- Every number published about MusicBrainz Artists is read from the Apify API rather than estimated, and any figure the register cannot source is not shown at all.
- MusicBrainz Artists is filed under business and developer tools so that it is found by the people looking for that job, not by its internal name.

### FAQ

**What does MusicBrainz Artists return?**

It returns 10 documented output fields — `name`, `sortName`, `country`, `area`, `beginArea`, `disambiguation`, `typeId` and `begin` — each with a declared type and a written description. The full schema is below.

**What does MusicBrainz Artists require to run?**

Nothing. All 4 inputs are optional and ship with working defaults.

**Does MusicBrainz Artists need an API key?**

No. It reads only public data and asks for no account.

**How is MusicBrainz Artists billed?**

Per result returned, on Apify. A run that returns nothing costs nothing. The authoritative price is on the Actor's Apify listing, which is where it is set.

# Actor input Schema

## `query` (type: `string`):

Artist name to search for, e.g. radiohead.

## `type` (type: `string`):

Optional: Person, Group, Orchestra, Choir or Character.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many rows.

## `maxPages` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many pages.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "query": "radiohead",
  "maxItems": 500,
  "maxPages": 5
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

One row per item, with the 10 fields listed under Views.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "query": "radiohead",
    "maxItems": 500,
    "maxPages": 5
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("alaudinburki/musicbrainz-artists").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "query": "radiohead",
    "maxItems": 500,
    "maxPages": 5,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("alaudinburki/musicbrainz-artists").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "query": "radiohead",
  "maxItems": 500,
  "maxPages": 5
}' |
apify call alaudinburki/musicbrainz-artists --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,alaudinburki/musicbrainz-artists"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/41bXuUy96bRPyUX94/builds/DoXXxnI5xbYbnLLih/openapi.json