MusicBrainz Scraper

Scrape the MusicBrainz open music database for artist discographies. Search by artist name and get full release lists with dates, labels, formats, barcodes, and optional track listings.

What does MusicBrainz Scraper do?

This scraper uses the free MusicBrainz JSON API to find artists and extract their complete release catalogs. For each artist query, it:

1. Searches MusicBrainz for the best matching artist
2. Browses all releases (albums, singles, EPs, compilations) by that artist
3. Optionally fetches detailed track listings for each release

Features

• Search multiple artists in a single run
• Full pagination — fetch up to 1,000 releases per artist
• Automatic rate limiting — respects MusicBrainz 1 request/second policy
• 503 backoff handling — graceful retry on rate limit responses
• Optional track listings with per-track duration and disc number
• Rich metadata: labels, catalog numbers, barcodes, formats, release status

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
searchQueries	string[]	["Radiohead"]	Artist names to search
maxResults	integer	50	Max releases per artist (1-1000)
includeRecordings	boolean	false	Include track listings (slower)
proxyConfiguration	object	—	Optional proxy configuration

Output Example

{
    "artistName": "Radiohead",
    "artistMbid": "a74b1b7f-71a5-4011-9441-d0b5e4122711",
    "releaseName": "OK Computer",
    "releaseMbid": "a1c35a51-f9c2-4d3a-8cfc-3b0c37899fb0",
    "releaseDate": "1997-06-16",
    "country": "GB",
    "status": "Official",
    "barcode": "724385522925",
    "label": "Parlophone",
    "catalogNumber": "CDNODATA 02",
    "format": "CD",
    "trackCount": 12,
    "disambiguation": "",
    "sourceUrl": "https://musicbrainz.org/release/a1c35a51-f9c2-4d3a-8cfc-3b0c37899fb0",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-04-26T00:00:00.000Z",
    "recordings": [
        {
            "position": 1,
            "disc": 1,
            "title": "Airbag",
            "length": 284066,
            "lengthFormatted": "4:44",
            "recordingMbid": "b3015bab-1540-4d4b-9b84-a0f1e8b9a989"
        }
    ]
}

The recordings array is only included when includeRecordings is set to true.

How much does it cost?

MusicBrainz Scraper uses pay-per-event pricing at $0.50 per 1,000 results.

Results	Estimated Cost
50	~$0.025
200	~$0.10
500	~$0.25
1,000	~$0.50

Rate Limiting

MusicBrainz requires a maximum of 1 request per second. This scraper enforces a 1.1-second delay between all API calls and handles 503 responses with a 5-second backoff. When includeRecordings is enabled, each release requires an additional API call, so runs take longer.

Tips

• Start with maxResults: 10 and includeRecordings: true to explore an artist's catalog
• Use includeRecordings: false for large runs to avoid the per-release detail call
• Popular artists like "Radiohead" or "The Beatles" may have 200+ releases including regional editions
• The status field distinguishes Official releases from Bootleg, Promotional, etc.
• MusicBrainz data is community-maintained and highly accurate for most major artists