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AudD Music Recognition API Docs

Quick Start

Our API is praised for how easy it is to integrate. Get started in mere seconds! Sign up for an API token.

Overview​

AudD is a powerful music recognition API that identifies songs from audio files, live streams, and large video files with industry-leading accuracy and enterprise-grade features.

📋 Quick Example​

curl https://api.audd.io/ \
  -F url='https://audd.tech/example.mp3' \
  -F api_token='your_api_token'

🚀 API Endpoints​

EndpointBest ForFile SizeResponse Time
Standard RecognitionSingle song identificationUp to 12 seconds~0.1-1.5 seconds
Audio StreamsReal-time monitoringContinuous streamsReal-time
EnterpriseLarge filesUnlimitedSeconds to minutes

For the live music recognition for audio streams, see docs for audio streams: useful if you want to identify music playing on radio stations, audio and video streams, etc.; e.g., if you want to monitor airplay, check live streams for copyright, create radio charts, now playing widgets, or bots for YouTube and Twitch streams.

We have a separate API endpoint that accepts large audio and video files (even hours-long mixes or days-long recordings) and recognizes all the tracks in them: see docs for the enterprise endpoint. Especially useful for some types of UGC and other content that you might want to check against our copyrighted music DB.

Some API methods are not public. Please coordinate access with your AudD contact.

You can send requests via GET and POST, with parameters in the query or the request body.

post
/
get
 Standard Recognition​

https://api.audd.io/

This is the default API method. It allows identifying music in audio, just like Shazam. A file is required: see #Sending files or the Code examples tab below.

Form Data Parameters
api_token
REQUIRED
string
The token received from the Dashboard
url
POSSIBLY REQUIRED
string
The URL of the file for the recognition
file
POSSIBLY REQUIRED
binary
The file for the recognition
return
OPTIONAL
string
Comma-separated identifiers of the additional metadata, see below
market
OPTIONAL
integer
Country code for Apple Music, iTunes, and Spotify results, default: us

info

The return parameter is for comma-separated identifiers of the additional metadata you want to be returned. The identifiers you can send: musicbrainz – MusicBrainz metadata; apple_music, spotify, deezer, napster – Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Napster data and links respectively. Example: apple_music,spotify.

Tip: GET requests

You can also send GET requests, even though it's better to send the parameters in the POST body. Here's an example:
https://api.audd.io/?url=https://audd.tech/example1.mp3&return=apple_music,spotify&api_token=your%20api%20token
Just don't forget to url-encode the parameters.

Sending files​

For the default API method, you have to send a file for recognition. There are three ways to send files to our API:

  • Provide an HTTP URL for the file to be recognized. Our server will download the file and identify the music. Send the URL in the url parameter as a string. The parameter can be sent either in the request body or query parameters, by GET or POST. We highly recommend sending files this way. If the file is available by URL, it's the easiest way to send it.
  • Post the file using multipart/form-data in the usual way browsers upload files. Send the file in the file parameter, by POST. We recommend sending a file this way when the file is not available by a URL (for example, if they are recorded locally or are not on a server).
  • Send a base64 encoded file in the audio parameter, as a string, by POST. We discourage the use of this parameter and have very limited support for it.

There are code examples for the first two ways in the Code examples tab of the API method description. Our custom GPT can help you write code.

The API also supports async WebSockets: connect to wss://api.audd.io/ws/?api_token=[token] and send multiple requests (with files in binary form) without waiting for the server's responses/results.

Responses explained​

By default, the API responses are in JSON format.

All the responses contain the status field that equals either "success" if the request was successfully processed or "error" if there's been an error. In case of success, the server always returns the result field.

If the server has successfully processed the request, but there are no matches, the result field could be null or an empty array, depending on the API method.

If there are matches, the default API method will return a result that's a structure that always contains artist, title, album, release_date, label, timecode, and song_link fields. Additionally, it has the data requested in the return parameter in fields corresponding to the identifiers. And just in case: timecode is the time in the recognized song when the fragment you sent is played; song_link links to a lis.tn song page like lis.tn/Warriors. Please let us know if you need album pages instead of song pages.

Authentication and limits​

To send requests, get a token from the Dashboard. Normally, our plans include as-you-go pricing: some number of requests is included with your monthly bill, but you can send requests on top of what's included and will be charged for those separately. If you want custom terms, we can discuss that if you want to send >500 000 requests per month or identify music from over 100 streams. Reach out: api@audd.io, +1(302)283-9101.

Where to find code examples​

Common errors​

We have about 40 different error codes. The API returns the errors with an explanation of what happened. The common errors:

  • #901 — No api_token passed, and the limit was reached (you need to obtain an api_token).
  • #900 — Wrong API token (check the api_token parameter).
  • #600 — Incorrect audio url.
  • #700 — You haven't sent a file for recognition (or we didn't receive it). If you use the POST HTTP method, check the Content-Type header: it should be multipart/form-data; also check the URL you're sending requests to: it should start with https:// (http:// requests get redirected and we don't receive any data from you when your code follows the redirect).
  • #500 — Incorrect audio file.
  • #400 — Too big audio file. 10M or 25 seconds is the maximum. We recommend recording no more than 20 seconds (usually, it takes less than one megabyte). If you need to recognize music from larger audio files, use the enterprise endpoint instead, it supports even days-long files.
  • #300 — Fingerprinting error: there was a problem with audio decoding or with the neural network. Possibly, the audio file is too small.
  • #100 — An unknown error. Contact us in this case.

Support​

Reach out to api@audd.io if you need any help.