MusicBrainz API/Examples

This document describes the proposed JSON output, using example queries and the responses I am proposing. Getting a JSON response will require setting the Accept header to "application/json".

Some notable differences compared to the JSON response currently used internally by the search server:

1. all "-list" elements are replaced with javascript arrays, using an english plural as the key. So { "tag-list": { "tag": [ ... ] } } becomes { "tags": [ ... ] }.
2. the "name-credit" key inside an "artist-credit" is removed.

Some of the responses below have some fields omitted to keep the examples shorter, in the actual webservice obviously this data will be included.

Lookup requests

Artist

Request: http://musicbrainz.org/ws/2/artist/5b11f4ce-a62d-471e-81fc-a69a8278c7da?inc=aliases
Response:

{
   "artist": {
       "id": "5b11f4ce-a62d-471e-81fc-a69a8278c7da"
       "name": "Nirvana",
       "sort-name": "Nirvana"
       "type": "Group",
       "country": "US",
       "disambiguation": "90s US grunge band",
       "life-span": {
           "ended": true,
           "begin": "1988-02",
           "end": "1994-04-05"
       },
       "aliases": { "name": "Nirvana US", "sort-name": "Nirvana US" },
   }
}

Request: http://musicbrainz.org/ws/2/artist/05cbaf37-6dc2-4f71-a0ce-d633447d90c3?inc=aliases+tags+ratings
Response:

{
   "artist": {
       "id": "05cbaf37-6dc2-4f71-a0ce-d633447d90c3",
       "name": "\u6771\u65b9\u795e\u8d77",
       "sort-name": "TVXQ",
       "type": "Group",
       "life-span": {
           "ended": false,
           "begin": "2003"
       },
       "aliases": [
           { "name": "DBSK", "sort-name": "DBSK" },
           { "name": "Tohoshinki", "sort-name": "Tohoshinki", "locale": "ja", "primary": true },
           { "name": "\ub3d9\ubc29\uc2e0\uae30", "sort-name": "\ub3d9\ubc29\uc2e0\uae30", "locale": "ko_KR", "primary": true }
       ],
       "tags": [
           { "count": 1, "name": "kpop" },
           { "count": 1, "name": "jpop" },
           { "count": 1, "name": "cpop" }
       ],
       "rating": { "votes-count": 8, "value": 3.9 }
   }
}

Label

Request: http://musicbrainz.org/ws/2/label/46f0f4cd-8aab-4b33-b698-f459faf64190?inc=aliases
Response:

{
   "label": {
       "id": "46f0f4cd-8aab-4b33-b698-f459faf64190",
       "name": "Warp Records",
       "sort-name": "Warp Records",
       "label-code": 2070,
       "type": "Original Production",
       "country": "GB",
       "life-span": {
           "ended": false,
           "begin": "1989"
       },
       "tags": [ { "count": 2, "name": "electronic" } ]
   }
}

Request: http://musicbrainz.org/ws/2/label/f49e877d-df8d-4a28-bbe1-689d12fc7d91?inc=aliases
Response:

{
   "label": {
       "id": "f49e877d-df8d-4a28-bbe1-689d12fc7d91"
       "name": "AVEX ENTERTAINMENT INC.",
       "sort-name": "AVEX ENTERTAINMENT INC.",
       "type": "Production",
       "country": "JP",
       "disambiguation": "avex's Japanese music production",
       "life-span": { "ended": false },
       "aliases": [
           { "name": "AVEX MARKETING", "sort-name": "AVEX MARKETING" },
           { "name": "avex marketing", "sort-name": "avex marketing" },
           {
               "name": "\u30a8\u30a4\u30d9\u30c3\u30af\u30b9\u30fb\u30a8\u30f3\u30bf\u30c6\u30a4\u30f3\u30e1\u30f3\u30c8",
               "sort-name": "\u30a8\u30a4\u30d9\u30c3\u30af\u30b9\u30fb\u30a8\u30f3\u30bf\u30c6\u30a4\u30f3\u30e1\u30f3\u30c8"
           }
       ]
   }
}

Recording

Request: http://musicbrainz.org/ws/2/recording/fcbcdc39-8851-4efc-a02a-ab0e13be224f?inc=artist-credits+isrcs+releases
Response:

{
   "recording": {
       "id": "fcbcdc39-8851-4efc-a02a-ab0e13be224f",
       "title": "LAST ANGEL"
       "disambiguation": "video"
       "artist-credit": [
           {
               "name": "\u6771\u65b9\u795e\u8d77",
               "joinphrase": " feat. ",
               "artist": {
                   "id": "455641ea-fff4-49f6-8fb4-49f961d8f1ac",
                   "name": "\u6771\u65b9\u795e\u8d77",
                   "sort-name": "Koda, Kumi"
               }
           },
           {
               "name": "\u5016\u7530\u4f86\u672a",
               "artist": {
                   "id": "05cbaf37-6dc2-4f71-a0ce-d633447d90c3",
                   "name": "\u5016\u7530\u4f86\u672a",
                   "sort-name": "TVXQ"
               }
           }
       ],
       "isrcs": [ "JPB600760301" ],
       "length": 228106,
       "releases": [
           {
               "id": "abcd76db-7d5f-3eb7-b386-051c97bfe2e4",
               "title": "Kingdom",
               /* some properties omitted to keep this example shorter. */
           }
       ],
   }
}

Release

Request: http://musicbrainz.org/ws/2/release/59211ea4-ffd2-4ad9-9a4e-941d3148024a?inc=artist-credits+labels+discids+recordings
Response:

{
   "release": {
       "id": "59211ea4-ffd2-4ad9-9a4e-941d3148024a",
       "title": "\u00e6\u00b3o & h\u00b3\u00e6",
       "date": "2003-12-04",
       "text-representation": { "language": "eng", "script": "Latn" },
       "country": "GB",
       "status": "Official",
       "release-group": {
           "id": "bb5622c1-65b2-3bc4-83e6-0dcaa56abaf2",
           "primary-type": "EP"
       },
       "artist-credit": [
           {
               "joinphrase": " & ",
               "name": "Autechre",
               "artist": {
                   "id": "410c9baf-5469-44f6-9852-826524b80c61",
                   "name": "Autechre",
                   "sort-name": "Autechre"
               }
           },
           {
               "name": "The Hafler Trio",
               "artist": {
                   "id": "146c01d0-d3a2-44c3-acb5-9208bce75e14",
                   "sort-name": "Hafler Trio, The",
                   "name": "The Hafler Trio"
               }
           }
       ],
       "labels": [
           {
               "label": {
                   "id": "a0759efa-f583-49ea-9a8d-d5bbce55541c",
                   "name": "Phonometrography"
               },
               "catalog-number": "pgram002"
           }
       ],
       "media": [
           {
               "title": "\u00e6\u00b3o",
               "format": "CD",
               "discids": [
                   { "id": "nN2g3a0ZSjovyIgK3bJl6_.j8C4-", "sectors": 73241 }
               ],
               "tracks": [
                   {
                       "number": "1",
                       "length": 974546,
                       "title": "\u00e6\u00b3o",
                       "recording": { /* recording data omitted for this example. */ },
                       "artist-credit": [ /* as on release, not repeated in this example. */ ]
                   }
               ]
           },
           {
               "title": "h\u00b3\u00e6",
               "format": "CD",
               "discids": [
                   { "id": "aSHvkMnq2jZVFEK.DmSPbvN_f54-", "sectors": 69341 }
               ],
               "tracks": [
                   {
                       "number": "1",
                       "length": 922546,
                       "title": "h\u00b3\u00e6",
                       "recording": { /* recording data omitted for this example. */ },
                       "artist-credit": [ /* as on release, not repeated in this example. */ ]
                   }
               ]
           }
       ]
   }
}

Release Group

Request: http://musicbrainz.org/ws/2/release-group/c9fdb94c-4975-4ed6-a96f-ef6d80bb7738?inc=artist-credits+releases
Response:

{
   "release-group": {
       "id": "c9fdb94c-4975-4ed6-a96f-ef6d80bb7738",
       "title": "The Lost Tape",
       "artist-credit": [
           "name": "50 Cent",
           "artist": {
               "id": "8e68819d-71be-4e7d-b41d-f1df81b01d3f",
               "name": "50 Cent"
               "sort-name": "50 Cent",
           }
       ],
       "primary-type": "Album",
       "secondary-type": [ "Mixtape/Street" ],
       "releases": [
           {
               "id": "2ec84eb6-ab92-4ac3-9720-32ad84c34f11",
               "title": "The Lost Tape",
               /* some properties omitted to keep this example shorter. */
           }
       ]
   }
}