# SoundCloud Scraper: Tracks, Users & Playlists (`cprussin/soundcloud-metadata`) Actor

Get SoundCloud metadata (no audio) for tracks, users and playlists by URL or keyword search: title, plays, likes, reposts, comments, duration, genre, tags, artwork, followers and more. Public data only, no login. $2 per 1,000 items.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/cprussin/soundcloud-metadata.md
- **Developed by:** [Connor Prussin](https://apify.com/cprussin) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, For creators
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 items

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

## SoundCloud Metadata Scraper: Tracks, Users & Playlists

**SoundCloud Metadata Scraper** returns metadata for **SoundCloud tracks, users (artists) and playlists** from the public SoundCloud API. Paste track, profile or playlist URLs, or run a keyword **search** for tracks, users or playlists. For each item you get the title, owner, play / like / repost / comment counts, duration, genre, tags, created date, artwork, description and more. **No audio is downloaded** — metadata only. No login or API key needed.

- ✅ **Resolve any URL:** tracks (`/user/track`), users (`/user`) and playlists/albums (`/user/sets/name`).
- ✅ **Keyword search:** tracks, users or playlists, with a result cap so trials are cheap.
- ✅ **Engagement stats:** plays, likes, reposts, comments, followers, track counts.
- ✅ **Metadata only:** titles, genres, tags, durations, artwork and descriptions. No audio, no copyrighted stream is ever fetched.
- ✅ Fast and light: uses SoundCloud's public `api-v2` endpoints. No browser, no proxy needed.
- ✅ Pay only per item returned.

### Start in one minute

Click **Start** with the prefilled input:

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran/shape-of-you",
    "https://soundcloud.com/postmalone/rockstar-feat-21-savage",
    "https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran"
  ],
  "maxItems": 10,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

You get: three dataset items — two tracks (with `playbackCount`, `likesCount`, `genre`, `durationMs`) and one user (with `followersCount`, `trackCount`).

**Cost:** about $0.006: 3 items × $0.002, plus the $0.00005 actor-start fee.

### Use with an AI assistant

Connect the [Apify MCP server](https://mcp.apify.com) to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client (`https://mcp.apify.com?tools=cprussin/soundcloud-metadata` loads only this actor), then paste:

```text
Use the Apify actor cprussin/soundcloud-metadata to search SoundCloud for the 10 most relevant "lofi hip hop" tracks and list their play and like counts.
```

### Recipes

#### Resolve specific tracks, a profile and a playlist

Mix track, user and playlist URLs; each resolves to one item.

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran/shape-of-you",
    "https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran",
    "https://soundcloud.com/lofi_chill/sets/lofi-chill"
  ]
}
```

#### Search tracks by keyword

The 25 most relevant tracks for a keyword, with plays, likes and genre.

```json
{
  "search": "lofi hip hop",
  "searchType": "tracks",
  "maxItems": 25
}
```

#### Find artists (users)

Search user profiles by name to get follower and track counts.

```json
{
  "search": "drake",
  "searchType": "users",
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

#### Search playlists

Find playlists and albums matching a keyword.

```json
{
  "search": "chill",
  "searchType": "playlists",
  "maxItems": 15
}
```

### What data do you get for each item?

One dataset item per track, user or playlist. Fields that don't apply to a type are `null`. Example (a track, shortened):

```json
{
  "type": "track",
  "id": 406715293,
  "url": "https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran/shape-of-you",
  "title": "Shape of You",
  "username": "Ed Sheeran",
  "userUrl": "https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran",
  "genre": "Pop",
  "tags": ["Pop"],
  "createdAt": "2017-01-06T00:00:00Z",
  "durationMs": 233840,
  "playbackCount": 84266602,
  "likesCount": 1049387,
  "repostsCount": 48213,
  "commentCount": 3120,
  "labelName": "Atlantic Records UK",
  "artworkUrl": "https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-Ar69BodfFm7L-0-large.jpg",
  "source": "https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran/shape-of-you"
}
```

**Field notes**

- `type` is `track`, `user` or `playlist`. Track-only fields (plays, comments), user-only fields (followers, city, verified) and playlist-only fields (trackCount, isAlbum) are `null` on other types.
- `createdAt` is an ISO 8601 UTC timestamp.
- `tags` is parsed from SoundCloud's tag list (multi-word tags are preserved).
- `durationMs` is the length in milliseconds (tracks and playlists).
- No audio stream is ever fetched; `downloadable`/`streamable` only report the uploader's flags.

### How does the SoundCloud scraper work?

1. The actor fetches the SoundCloud homepage and extracts the anonymous `client_id` from the referenced JavaScript bundles. It caches it and re-extracts a fresh one automatically if SoundCloud rotates it (HTTP 401).
2. Each URL in `urls` is resolved with `GET /resolve?url=...` on `api-v2.soundcloud.com` into a track, user or playlist object.
3. A `search` keyword is sent to `/search/tracks`, `/search/users` or `/search/playlists` (by `searchType`) and paged up to `maxItems`.
4. Rate limits and network errors are retried with exponential backoff. URLs that 404 or point to unsupported pages are logged and skipped. The run continues.

### How much does it cost to scrape SoundCloud?

Pay-per-event. You are charged **one** event per item written to the dataset:

| Event                          | Price      | Per 1,000 items |
| ------------------------------ | ---------- | --------------- |
| Item (track, user or playlist) | **$0.002** | $2.00           |

Items that fail to load or are not found are not charged. A small `$0.00005` actor-start fee covers the first few seconds of compute. If you set a **maximum cost per run**, the actor stops cleanly when it reaches it.

### Who uses SoundCloud metadata?

- **A\&R and labels** track emerging artists by plays, likes and follower growth.
- **Playlist curators and marketers** find tracks and playlists in a genre or around a keyword.
- **Researchers and data teams** build datasets of track and artist metadata.
- **AI agents** look up track, artist or playlist stats on demand via the Apify MCP server.

### SoundCloud scraper FAQ

**Does it download audio?** No. It only returns metadata from SoundCloud's public API. It never fetches an audio stream or file, so it does not touch copyrighted audio.

**Do I need a login or API key?** No. The actor extracts SoundCloud's own anonymous `client_id` and uses the public `api-v2` endpoints.

**What URLs are supported?** Track URLs (`soundcloud.com/user/track`), user/profile URLs (`soundcloud.com/user`) and playlist/album URLs (`soundcloud.com/user/sets/name`).

**Can I use it through the API or with AI agents?** Yes. Call it through the Apify API, the Apify MCP server or any Apify integration. Pricing is per event only.

**Is scraping SoundCloud legal?** The actor only collects publicly available metadata that SoundCloud serves to every visitor, and never downloads audio. You are responsible for how you use the data and for complying with SoundCloud's terms and applicable law.

**Disclaimer:** This actor is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by SoundCloud. SoundCloud is a trademark of SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG.

### Related actors

- [YouTube Transcript Scraper](https://apify.com/cprussin/youtube-transcripts?fpr=to54nm): YouTube transcripts as text, segments, SRT or VTT, for AI and RAG.
- [DeviantArt Scraper](https://apify.com/cprussin/deviantart-metadata?fpr=to54nm): DeviantArt deviation, gallery and profile metadata (no images downloaded).
- [Whisper Audio & Video Transcriber](https://apify.com/cprussin/media-transcriber?fpr=to54nm): Audio, video and podcast transcription with Whisper, with SRT and VTT subtitles.

# Actor input Schema

## `urls` (type: `array`):

Track, user (artist) or playlist/album URLs to resolve, e.g. https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran/shape-of-you (track), https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran (user) or https://soundcloud.com/user/sets/name (playlist). Each resolved object is one dataset item.

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

Optional. Keyword to search SoundCloud for. Combine with searchType and maxItems. Leave empty to only resolve the URLs above.

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

What the search keyword looks for: tracks, users (artists) or playlists.

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

How many search results to return (newest page first). Only applies to the search keyword; URLs above are always resolved. Each item is billed as one event.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optional. Not needed normally; use Apify Proxy only if SoundCloud starts rate-limiting very large runs.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

URLs resolved in parallel.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran/shape-of-you",
    "https://soundcloud.com/postmalone/rockstar-feat-21-savage",
    "https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran"
  ],
  "searchType": "tracks",
  "maxItems": 10,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  },
  "maxConcurrency": 5
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

# 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 = {
    "urls": [
        "https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran/shape-of-you",
        "https://soundcloud.com/postmalone/rockstar-feat-21-savage",
        "https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran"
    ],
    "maxItems": 10,
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": false
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("cprussin/soundcloud-metadata").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 = {
    "urls": [
        "https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran/shape-of-you",
        "https://soundcloud.com/postmalone/rockstar-feat-21-savage",
        "https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran",
    ],
    "maxItems": 10,
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": False },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("cprussin/soundcloud-metadata").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 '{
  "urls": [
    "https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran/shape-of-you",
    "https://soundcloud.com/postmalone/rockstar-feat-21-savage",
    "https://soundcloud.com/edsheeran"
  ],
  "maxItems": 10,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}' |
apify call cprussin/soundcloud-metadata --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/PpF3bjc59161hBHjT/builds/13hEoqQoIPO1EXWkj/openapi.json