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Overview

The SonoVault API gives you access to music metadata for 80 million tracks and counting. Look up ISRC codes, artist credits, label, genre tags, release dates, and cross-platform IDs — all from a single REST endpoint.

Use it to power music discovery apps, catalog management, sync and royalty tools, or any workflow that needs accurate track-level data.

All responses are JSON. Every request requires an API key in the x-api-key header. There are no SDKs to install — any HTTP client works.

What you can do

  • Search tracks by artist and title — returns ISRC, duration, genre, and artist credits.
  • Look up by ISRC — get full metadata for a specific recording.
  • Resolve cross-platform IDs — given a Spotify, Beatport, Apple Music, Tidal, Discogs, or MusicBrainz ID, get matching IDs on all other platforms.
  • Search artists and releases — find artists by name or browse their discography.
  • New releases — paginated feed of the latest releases, sorted by artist popularity.

Try it without signing up

Every endpoint on this page has a Try it out button that opens the API explorer. It uses a public demo key so you can make real requests and see live responses — no account required. Click Try it out on any endpoint to get started.


Quickstart

Get from zero to your first API response in under 5 minutes. Create a free account to get an API key — no credit card required.

1. Sign up and verify your email

Create a free account at sonovault.now. We send a verification link to your inbox — click it before making API calls. Until your email is verified, every /v1 request returns 403 Email not verified.

2. Get your API key

Once verified, grab your key from the dashboard. All requests must include it in the x-api-key header.

3. Make your first request

Search for a track by artist and title. The response includes ISRC, duration, genre, and full artist credits.

curl
curl https://api.sonovault.now/v1/tracks/search \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-G -d "artist=Daft Punk" \
-d "title=One More Time"

4. Explore the API

Now that you have your first result, try looking up the ISRC with the ISRC lookup endpoint or resolve cross-platform links with Platform links.


Authentication

All API requests require a valid API key passed in the x-api-key header.

http
x-api-key: svk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Test keys prefixed svk_test_ return mocked data. Live keys prefixed svk_live_ hit the real database.

Never expose your API key in client-side code or commit it to version control. Use environment variables.

Base URL

All API requests use the following base URL:

http
https://api.sonovault.now

All endpoints return JSON with Content-Type: application/json. Request parameters are passed as query strings for GET requests.


Rate limits

Rate limits are enforced per API key on a rolling 60-second window. If you exceed your limit, requests return 429 Too Many Requests.

TierRequests/monthBurst (per 60s)
Free1,00020
Starter50,00060
Growth500,000300
Scale5,000,0001,000

Every response includes rate limit headers so you can track your usage and avoid hitting limits:

HeaderDescription
RateLimit-LimitYour burst limit (max requests per 60-second window).
RateLimit-RemainingRequests remaining in the current window.
RateLimit-ResetSeconds until the current window resets and RateLimit-Remaining refills.

When you receive a 429 response, wait the number of seconds in RateLimit-Reset before retrying. For batch workloads, check RateLimit-Remaining and throttle proactively rather than waiting for a rejection.


Errors

All errors return a JSON object with an error string:

json
{
"error": "Not found"
}
StatusDescription
400Missing or invalid parameters.
401Missing or invalid API key.
403Endpoint requires a paid plan. Upgrade to access browse.
410Endpoint disabled. The endpoint will return in another form later.
404No matching track or resource.
429Rate limit exceeded. Check RateLimit-Reset header for retry timing.
500Unexpected server error.

FAQ

Sign up for a free account at sonovault.now — no credit card required. Verify your email by clicking the link we send (required before any /v1 request will succeed), then grab your key from the dashboard and include it in the x-api-key header with every request.
All endpoints return JSON with Content-Type: application/json. Request parameters are passed as query strings for GET requests. There are no SDKs to install — any HTTP client works.
No. SonoVault is a text-metadata API: it returns titles, artists, labels, release dates, ISRCs, genres, durations, and cross-platform IDs. Lyrics, album artwork, and audio previews are not served — those assets carry separate licensing restrictions and are intentionally excluded from every endpoint.
Yes. The free tier gives you 1,000 requests per month with a 20 requests/minute burst limit. It includes track search, ISRC lookup, and platform links. Track browse and new releases require a paid plan.
You receive a 429 Too Many Requests response. Check the RateLimit-Reset header for the number of seconds until your window resets. For batch workloads, monitor RateLimit-Remaining and throttle proactively.
The platform links endpoint resolves track IDs across Spotify, Apple Music, Beatport, Tidal, Discogs, and MusicBrainz. Given any one platform ID or an ISRC code, it returns matching IDs on all other platforms.


ISRC lookup

Exact lookup by ISRC code. The ISRC is part of the path — there is no query string. Returns full track detail including genre and subgenre.

GET/v1/tracks/isrc/:isrc

Path parameters

ParameterInTypeRequiredDescription
isrcpathstringrequiredISRC code (e.g. GBDUW0000053).
Example response

Track by ID

Get a single track by its internal SonoVault track ID. Returns the same track payload as ISRC lookup — title, artists, releases, ISRC, duration, genre, and subgenre.

GET/v1/tracks/:id

Path parameters

ParameterInTypeRequiredDescription
idpathintegerrequiredInternal SonoVault track ID.
Example response


Bulk resolve

Resolve up to 100 inputs in a single request — track names, ISRCs, or platform IDs — to canonical SonoVault tracks plus their cross-platform links. One credit is charged per input line. If your monthly quota runs out mid-batch the response is partial: unresolved lines come back with status skipped_no_credits instead of an error.

Request body (JSON)

  • input_type (string, required) — one of track_name, isrc, sonovault_id, spotify_id, applemusic_id, tidal_id, beatport_id, discogs_id, musicbrainz_id.
  • items (array, required) — 1 to 100 entries. For track_name, each entry is an object { artist, title }; for every other input type, each entry is a string.

Response

  • results — one entry per input line, in input order: { input, status, track, links }, where status is matched, not_found, or skipped_no_credits.
  • partial, processed, credits_used, credits_remaining, message — the batch billing summary.
POST/v1/tracks/resolve
Example response

Browse tracks

Discover tracks by filtering on label, artist, genre, or year. Returns up to 20 tracks ordered by release date (newest first) by default; pass randomize=true to sample 20 random tracks from the top-popularity pool instead. At least one filter parameter is required — calls with no filters return 400. Filter by genre with either genreId (a canonical id from GET /v1/genres) or genre (a free-text exact name) — prefer genreId as it is stable and unambiguous; use genre only to reach rare subgenres that /v1/genres does not list. genre and genreId are mutually exclusive — passing both returns 400.

GETPaid/v1/tracks/browse

Parameters

ParameterInTypeRequiredDescription
labelIdqueryintegeroptionalFilter by label ID.
artistIdqueryintegeroptionalFilter by artist ID.
genrequerystringoptionalExact genre name, case-insensitive (House matches House but not Tech House). Free-text alternative to genreId — use it for rare subgenres not listed by GET /v1/genres. Mutually exclusive with genreId.
genreIdqueryintegeroptionalCanonical genre id from GET /v1/genres — the stable, unambiguous way to filter by genre. Mutually exclusive with genre.
yearqueryintegeroptionalRelease year (e.g. 2025).
randomizequerybooleanoptionalIf true, return 20 random tracks sampled from the top 1000 by popularity instead of the most recent releases. Defaults to false.
Example response


Artist by ID

Get artist by ID. Returns the public artist fields (country, formation_year + optional formation_date, social_links, wikidata_id) flattened alongside a release_count summary. For the actual release list, use /v1/artists/:id/releases — the embedded array was removed because it became huge for prolific artists.

GET/v1/artists/:id

Path parameters

ParameterInTypeRequiredDescription
idpathintegerrequiredArtist ID.
Example response

Artists by label

Paginated list of artists with releases on a specific label, ordered by number of releases on that label (descending). Each artist carries the public profile fields and a release_count scoped to this label.

GET/v1/labels/:id/artists

Path parameters

ParameterInTypeRequiredDescription
idpathintegerrequiredLabel ID.

Query parameters

ParameterInTypeRequiredDescription
limitqueryintegeroptionalMax results, 1–100. Default 20.
cursorquerystringoptionalCursor from previous response for pagination.
Example response


Label by ID

Get label by ID. Returns the public label fields (id, name) flattened alongside release_count and artist_count summaries. For the actual lists, use /v1/labels/:id/releases and /v1/labels/:id/artists — embedded arrays were removed because they became huge for prolific labels.

GET/v1/labels/:id

Path parameters

ParameterInTypeRequiredDescription
idpathintegerrequiredLabel ID.
Example response

Releases by artist

Paginated feed of releases by a specific artist, ordered by release date (newest first). The per-item artist field is omitted (the caller already knows it).

GET/v1/artists/:id/releases

Path parameters

ParameterInTypeRequiredDescription
idpathintegerrequiredArtist ID.

Query parameters

ParameterInTypeRequiredDescription
limitqueryintegeroptionalMax results, 1–100. Default 20.
cursorquerystringoptionalCursor from previous response for pagination.
Example response

Releases by label

Paginated feed of releases on a specific label, ordered by release date (newest first). Each result carries the primary artist, label, catalog number, and track count.

GET/v1/labels/:id/releases

Path parameters

ParameterInTypeRequiredDescription
idpathintegerrequiredLabel ID.

Query parameters

ParameterInTypeRequiredDescription
limitqueryintegeroptionalMax results, 1–100. Default 20.
cursorquerystringoptionalCursor from previous response for pagination.
Example response


Release by ID

Get release by ID. Returns the release fields flat with nested artist and label objects, plus a peer tracks[] array — each track has ISRC, genre, subgenre, and artist credits.

GET/v1/releases/:id

Path parameters

ParameterInTypeRequiredDescription
idpathintegerrequiredRelease ID.
Example response

New releases

Paginated feed of releases ordered by release date (newest first).

GETPaid/v1/releases/new

Parameters

ParameterInTypeRequiredDescription
limitqueryintegeroptional1–100. Default 20.
cursorquerystringoptionalCursor from previous response for pagination.

Pagination

When more results are available, the response includes a next_cursor string. Pass it as the cursor parameter to fetch the next page:

curl
curl https://api.sonovault.now/v1/releases/new \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-G -d "limit=20" \
-d "cursor=2026-03-22:78:789"

When next_cursor is null, you have reached the last page.

Example response

List genres

Lists every canonical genre and subgenre SonoVault recognises. Use this to find the numeric genreId for a genre suggestion — the suggestion endpoint validates against this exact list, so it never goes out of date.

GET/v1/genres
Example response

Suggest a genre

Suggest a better genre for a track. Suggestions are reviewed by the SonoVault team before they affect the catalog — a successful call returns the suggestion with status: "pending". Requires a paid plan.

Request body (JSON)

  • genreId (integer, required) — a genre id from GET /v1/genres.
  • note (string, optional) — a short explanation for the reviewer, max 100 characters.

Limits

  • Up to 100 suggestions per day per account. Can be increased upon request.
POSTPaid/v1/tracks/:id/suggestions

Path parameters

ParameterInTypeRequiredDescription
idpathintegerrequiredInternal SonoVault track ID.
Example response

List your suggestions

Lists the edit suggestions you have submitted and their review status (pending, approved, or rejected), newest first.

GET/v1/suggestions

Parameters

ParameterInTypeRequiredDescription
limitqueryintegeroptionalMax results, 1–100. Default 20.
cursorquerystringoptionalCursor from previous response for pagination.
Example response
API explorer

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