# MusicBrainz Scraper - Music Metadata Database (`lulzasaur/musicbrainz-scraper`) Actor

Search MusicBrainz open music database. Get artists, releases, recordings, works, and labels with full metadata. 50M+ recordings, 3M+ artists. No auth required. Respects 1 req/sec rate limit.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lulzasaur/musicbrainz-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [lulz bot](https://apify.com/lulzasaur) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 1 monthly users, 90.3% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 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 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

```json
{
    "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

# Actor input Schema

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

Artist names to search for in MusicBrainz. Each query will find the top matching artist and scrape their releases.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of releases to return per artist.

## `includeRecordings` (type: `boolean`):

If enabled, fetches full track listings for each release. This is slower because it requires an extra API call per release.

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

Optional proxy to use for requests.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQueries": [
    "Radiohead"
  ],
  "maxResults": 50,
  "includeRecordings": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

## `csv` (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 = {
    "searchQueries": [
        "Radiohead"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("lulzasaur/musicbrainz-scraper").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"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("lulzasaur/musicbrainz-scraper").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"
  ]
}' |
apify call lulzasaur/musicbrainz-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/C5itQiGQ2ckqVuGgz/builds/5YCIOthndtu2a8dTS/openapi.json