# Music Metadata Scraper: Artists, Albums, Tracks & ISRC (`pankajbhatia/musicbrainz-music-metadata`) Actor

Search the open MusicBrainz database for artists, albums, releases and tracks, or look up ISRC codes and CD/vinyl barcodes: release dates, labels, catalog numbers, genres, durations, ISRCs and cover art links. CC0 data.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/pankajbhatia/musicbrainz-music-metadata.md
- **Developed by:** [Pankaj Bhatia](https://apify.com/pankajbhatia) (community)
- **Categories:** Other, Developer tools
- **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

## Music Metadata Scraper: Artists, Albums, Tracks & ISRC

Search the open **MusicBrainz** music encyclopedia, with tens of millions of recordings, for **artists**, **albums** (release groups), **releases** (specific editions) and **tracks** (recordings), or look up **ISRC** codes and CD/vinyl/digital **barcodes**. Rows include release dates, countries, labels, catalog numbers, formats, track counts, durations, ISRCs, genres, aliases, match scores, cover art links and MusicBrainz IDs (MBIDs). No login, no API key.

### Who is it for?

- **Music apps, DJs and playlist tools** that need clean metadata and IDs.
- **Labels, distributors and publishers** checking ISRCs, release dates and catalog numbers.
- **Record stores and marketplaces** matching barcodes to releases.
- **Data and AI teams** building music knowledge graphs.

### How to use it

1. Choose **Search for**: artists, albums, releases or tracks.
2. Type **search** terms. Optionally add an **artist** filter and a **minimum match score**.
3. Add **ISRC codes** or **release barcodes** for exact lookups.
4. Click **Start** and export to JSON, CSV or Excel.

### Input example

```json
{"searchType": "albums", "searchQueries": ["ok computer"], "artistFilter": "Radiohead", "maxResultsPerSearch": 5}
```

### Output example

```json
{"entity": "album", "mbid": "b1392450-e666-3926-a536-22c65f834433", "title": "OK Computer", "artist": "Radiohead", "primaryType": "Album", "firstReleaseDate": "1997-05-21", "releaseCount": 39, "genres": ["alternative rock", "art rock"], "coverArtUrl": "https://coverartarchive.org/release-group/b1392450-e666-3926-a536-22c65f834433/front-250", "url": "https://musicbrainz.org/release-group/b1392450-e666-3926-a536-22c65f834433"}
```

### How much does it cost?

Pay-per-event: a small fee **per result** returned, plus a tiny per-run start fee, with no subscription and no separate platform usage costs. For example, 1,000 results cost about $1. Searches with no results and invalid codes are **not charged**. Set **Maximum cost per run** to cap your spending.

### Use it through the API, integrations or AI agents

Run it from the Apify API, on a schedule, or connect it to Make, Zapier, n8n or Google Sheets. AI agents can find and call it through the Apify MCP server. Output is clean JSON with the same fields on every run.

### FAQ

**Is it legal?** Yes. MusicBrainz core data is released under CC0 (public domain), and the tool follows MusicBrainz's API rules: an identifying User-Agent and at most one request per second. For solo artists (people), birth dates and gender are not returned. Cover art images come from the Cover Art Archive and keep their own rights.

**Why is it one request per second?** That's MusicBrainz's fair-use limit. Each request returns up to 100 results, so it is still fast.

**Does it include streaming play counts?** No. MusicBrainz is a metadata database, not a streaming service.

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# Actor input Schema

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

What to search.

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Names or titles. Full MusicBrainz search syntax works.

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

Limit album, release or track searches to this artist.

## `maxResultsPerSearch` (type: `integer`):

Best matches to return per search.

## `minMatchScore` (type: `integer`):

Skip weak matches (0-100).

## `isrcs` (type: `array`):

Look up recordings by ISRC, e.g. GBAYE6900522.

## `barcodes` (type: `array`):

Look up CDs, vinyl and digital releases by UPC/EAN.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchType": "artists",
  "searchQueries": [
    "radiohead"
  ],
  "artistFilter": "",
  "maxResultsPerSearch": 10,
  "minMatchScore": 0,
  "isrcs": [],
  "barcodes": []
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

One row per artist, album, release or track.

# 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 = {
    "searchQueries": [
        "radiohead"
    ],
    "artistFilter": "",
    "maxResultsPerSearch": 10,
    "minMatchScore": 0,
    "isrcs": [],
    "barcodes": []
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("pankajbhatia/musicbrainz-music-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 = {
    "searchQueries": ["radiohead"],
    "artistFilter": "",
    "maxResultsPerSearch": 10,
    "minMatchScore": 0,
    "isrcs": [],
    "barcodes": [],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("pankajbhatia/musicbrainz-music-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 '{
  "searchQueries": [
    "radiohead"
  ],
  "artistFilter": "",
  "maxResultsPerSearch": 10,
  "minMatchScore": 0,
  "isrcs": [],
  "barcodes": []
}' |
apify call pankajbhatia/musicbrainz-music-metadata --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,pankajbhatia/musicbrainz-music-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/IsBQRVCaE9Un05ccY/builds/ckCmPoboi4qDrY3Z5/openapi.json