Apple Music Artist Search API

Searches Apple Music artists by name in any country's store and returns them a page at a time, each with its ID, bio, genres and origin. Each also has whether it is a person or a group, when it was born or formed, and its full-size picture and banner. The Apple Music Artist API adds the top songs, albums and similar artists.

GET /v1/applemusic/search_artists

Read the API reference

1 credit per page, $0.75–$1.97 per 1,000 pages
19 typed fields null when unknown
50 artists per page, Apple Music's own relevance order for the query
query is all it needs, e.g. adele

Send one request. Get up to 50 artists back.

Copy the request in your language, or hand it to your agent. Sign up for an API key and your first 100 credits are free.

$ npm install socialtap

query = adele

Open in playground

GET /v1/applemusic/search_artistsTry in

const params = new URLSearchParams({
  query: "adele",
});
const res = await fetch(`https://socialtap.dev/v1/applemusic/search_artists?${params}`, {
  headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.SOCIALTAP_API_KEY ?? "" },
});
const body = await res.json();
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${body.error.code}: ${body.error.message}`);
const { data, page, meta } = body;
console.log(data, meta.credits_charged);

import os

import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://socialtap.dev/v1/applemusic/search_artists",
    params={"query": "adele"},
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"]},
)
body = res.json()
if not res.ok:
    raise RuntimeError(f"{body['error']['code']}: {body['error']['message']}")
data, page, meta = body["data"], body["page"], body["meta"]
print(data, meta["credits_charged"])

require "json"
require "net/http"

uri = URI("https://socialtap.dev/v1/applemusic/search_artists")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form('query' => 'adele')
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["x-api-key"] = ENV.fetch("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY")
res = Net::HTTP.start(uri.host, uri.port, use_ssl: uri.scheme == "https") { |http| http.request(req) }
body = JSON.parse(res.body)
raise "#{body["error"]["code"]}: #{body["error"]["message"]}" unless res.is_a?(Net::HTTPSuccess)
pp body["data"]
puts body["meta"]["credits_charged"]

<?php

$query = http_build_query([
    'query' => 'adele',
]);
$ch = curl_init('https://socialtap.dev/v1/applemusic/search_artists?' . $query);
curl_setopt_array($ch, [
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => ['x-api-key: ' . getenv('SOCIALTAP_API_KEY')],
]);
$body = json_decode(curl_exec($ch), true);
if (curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_RESPONSE_CODE) >= 400) {
    throw new RuntimeException($body['error']['code'] . ': ' . $body['error']['message']);
}
print_r($body['data']);
echo $body['meta']['credits_charged'], PHP_EOL;

package main

import (
	"encoding/json"
	"fmt"
	"log"
	"net/http"
	"net/url"
	"os"
)

func main() {
	q := url.Values{}
	q.Set("query", "adele")
	req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://socialtap.dev/v1/applemusic/search_artists?"+q.Encode(), nil)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}
	req.Header.Set("x-api-key", os.Getenv("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"))
	res, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()
	var body struct {
		Data  json.RawMessage `json:"data"`
		Page  json.RawMessage `json:"page"`
		Meta  map[string]any  `json:"meta"`
		Error *struct {
			Code    string `json:"code"`
			Message string `json:"message"`
		} `json:"error"`
	}
	if err := json.NewDecoder(res.Body).Decode(&body); err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}
	if body.Error != nil {
		log.Fatalf("%s: %s", body.Error.Code, body.Error.Message)
	}
	fmt.Println(string(body.Data), body.Meta["credits_charged"])
}

curl 'https://socialtap.dev/v1/applemusic/search_artists?query=adele' \
  -H "x-api-key: $SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"

{
  "data": [
    {
      "approximate_fields": [],
      "avatar_url": "https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Features125/v4/a2/2d/df/a22ddf71-9254-043c-c162-11fbc25c5ff3/mzl.ilbjswky.jpg/2400x2400bb.jpg",
      "banner_url": "https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Features69/v4/49/b8/ed/49b8edd2-17ed-0aa2-c14a-8cdee66b648c/pr_source.png/4320x1080bb.jpg",
      "bio": "Dozens of British artists share Adele’s origins—BRIT School, Myspace, pop stardom—but it takes rare talent to have your voice declared timeless in your career’s first flush. Adele Adkins honed hers as a kid in her North London bedroom, imitating Etta James every night for an hour…",
      "category": null,
      "country_code": null,
      "created_at": null,
      "display_name": "Adele",
      "external_links": [],
      "id": "262836961",
      "is_private": null,
      "is_verified": null,
      "location": "Tottenham, London, England",
      "metrics": {
        "follower_count": null,
        "following_count": null,
        "post_count": null,
        "total_like_count": null,
        "total_view_count": null
      },
      "platform": "applemusic",
      "platform_specific": {
        "applemusic": {
          "albums": [],
          "amg_artist_id": null,
          "born_or_formed": "May 5, 1988",
          "editorial_summary": null,
          "genres": [
            "Pop"
          ],
          "is_group": false,
          "latest_release": null,
          "music_videos": [],
          "playlists": [],
          "similar_artists": [],
          "singles": [],
          "storefront": "us",
          "top_songs": []
        }
      },
      "type": "person",
      "unknown_fields": [
        "platform_specific.applemusic.top_songs",
        "platform_specific.applemusic.albums",
        "platform_specific.applemusic.singles"
      ],
      "url": "https://music.apple.com/us/artist/adele/262836961",
      "username": null
    },
    {
      "approximate_fields": [],
      "avatar_url": "https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music124/v4/4f/60/52/4f6052f0-54d7-5d45-3c3c-f957a969c390/887396302181.tif/1500x1500ac.jpg",
      "banner_url": null,
      "bio": null,
      "category": null,
      "country_code": null,
      "created_at": null,
      "display_name": "Adele",
      "external_links": [],
      "id": "563040812",
      "is_private": null,
      "is_verified": null,
      "location": null,
      "metrics": {
        "follower_count": null,
        "following_count": null,
        "post_count": null,
        "total_like_count": null,
        "total_view_count": null
      },
      "platform": "applemusic",
      "platform_specific": {
        "applemusic": {
          "albums": [],
          "amg_artist_id": null,
          "born_or_formed": null,
          "editorial_summary": null,
          "genres": [
            "Christian"
          ],
          "is_group": false,
          "latest_release": null,
          "music_videos": [],
          "playlists": [],
          "similar_artists": [],
          "singles": [],
          "storefront": "us",
          "top_songs": []
        }
      },
      "type": "person",
      "unknown_fields": [
        "platform_specific.applemusic.top_songs",
        "platform_specific.applemusic.albums",
        "platform_specific.applemusic.singles"
      ],
      "url": "https://music.apple.com/us/artist/adele/563040812",
      "username": null
    },
    {
      "approximate_fields": [],
      "avatar_url": null,
      "banner_url": null,
      "bio": null,
      "category": null,
      "country_code": null,
      "created_at": null,
      "display_name": "Adele",
      "external_links": [],
      "id": "1268134202",
      "is_private": null,
      "is_verified": null,
      "location": null,
      "metrics": {
        "follower_count": null,
        "following_count": null,
        "post_count": null,
        "total_like_count": null,
        "total_view_count": null
      },
      "platform": "applemusic",
      "platform_specific": {
        "applemusic": {
          "albums": [],
          "amg_artist_id": null,
          "born_or_formed": null,
          "editorial_summary": null,
          "genres": [
            "Pop"
          ],
          "is_group": false,
          "latest_release": null,
          "music_videos": [],
          "playlists": [],
          "similar_artists": [],
          "singles": [],
          "storefront": "us",
          "top_songs": []
        }
      },
      "type": "person",
      "unknown_fields": [
        "platform_specific.applemusic.top_songs",
        "platform_specific.applemusic.albums",
        "platform_specific.applemusic.singles"
      ],
      "url": "https://music.apple.com/us/artist/adele/1268134202",
      "username": null
    }
  ],
  "page": {
    "has_more": true,
    "next_cursor": "c1.EXAMPLE_CURSOR",
    "next_cursor_expires_at": "2026-10-26T12:00:00Z",
    "end_reason": null
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "req_3f9c2a7d1e8b4c6a9f0e2d4b6a8c0e1f",
    "platform": "applemusic",
    "source": "api",
    "is_cached": false,
    "credits_charged": 1,
    "latency_ms": 313,
    "fetched_at": "2026-10-25T12:00:00Z",
    "input": null,
    "credits_remaining": 9999,
    "client_request_id": null,
    "warnings": []
  }
}

import { SocialTap } from "socialtap";

const client = new SocialTap(); // apiKey defaults to process.env.SOCIALTAP_API_KEY

const res = await client.applemusic.searchArtists.list({ query: "adele" });
console.log(res.data);
console.log(res.credits.charged, res.meta.request_id);

import java.net.URI;
import java.net.URLEncoder;
import java.net.http.HttpClient;
import java.net.http.HttpRequest;
import java.net.http.HttpResponse;
import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        String query = "query=" + encode("adele");
        HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
            .uri(URI.create("https://socialtap.dev/v1/applemusic/search_artists?" + query))
            .header("x-api-key", System.getenv("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"))
            .GET()
            .build();
        HttpResponse<String> response = HttpClient.newHttpClient()
            .send(request, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString());
        // An error is {"error": {"code", "message", ...}}; success is {data, meta}, meta.credits_charged its price.
        if (response.statusCode() >= 400) throw new RuntimeException(response.body());
        System.out.println(response.body());
    }

    static String encode(String value) {
        return URLEncoder.encode(value, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
    }
}

using System.Text.Json;

using var http = new HttpClient();
http.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("x-api-key", Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"));

var query = string.Join("&",
    "query=" + Uri.EscapeDataString("adele"));
var res = await http.GetAsync("https://socialtap.dev/v1/applemusic/search_artists?" + query);
using var body = JsonDocument.Parse(await res.Content.ReadAsStringAsync());
if (!res.IsSuccessStatusCode)
{
    var error = body.RootElement.GetProperty("error");
    throw new Exception($"{error.GetProperty("code")}: {error.GetProperty("message")}");
}
Console.WriteLine(body.RootElement.GetProperty("data"));
Console.WriteLine(body.RootElement.GetProperty("meta").GetProperty("credits_charged"));

// Cargo.toml: reqwest = { version = "0.12", features = ["blocking", "json"] }, serde_json = "1"
use std::env;

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let res = reqwest::blocking::Client::new()
        .get("https://socialtap.dev/v1/applemusic/search_artists")
        .query(&[("query", "adele")])
        .header("x-api-key", env::var("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY")?)
        .send()?;
    let ok = res.status().is_success();
    let body: serde_json::Value = res.json()?;
    if !ok {
        return Err(format!("{}: {}", body["error"]["code"], body["error"]["message"]).into());
    }
    println!("{} {}", body["data"], body["meta"]["credits_charged"]);
    Ok(())
}

200 OK · GET https://socialtap.dev/v1/applemusic/search_artistsLong arrays and strings are shortened here. Real responses are complete.Docs

One schema on 27 platforms.

The response reference lists every field, its type and when it is null. See the full schema.

Null means unknown
A field Apple Music doesn't show is null, never zero or an empty string, so a real zero always means zero.
What it accepts
What to search for: an artist's or a band's name, in any language. Apple matches it as its web player's search box does.
Write one parser
Apple Music, TikTok, Instagram and 24 more platforms answer in these fields, so the code that reads one reads them all.

platformstring: Platform ID (tiktok, youtube, …).
idstring: Platform-native account ID (string; YouTube UC…, Reddit t2_…).
usernamestring: Handle without the @; null when the account has none.
display_namestring: Display name, channel title or page name; null when empty or not exposed.
urlstring: Canonical profile URL.
typestring: Coarse account kind, as the platform labels it; unknown when it does not (TikTok labels organizations only). New values may be added; treat unknown values as unknown.
biostring: Profile bio, channel description or page about text; null when empty or not exposed.
avatar_urlstring: Profile picture URL (largest available). Platform CDN URLs can expire within hours.

What teams build with the Apple Music Artist Search API.

Look up an artist's Apple Music ID
Match an artist roster against Apple Music
Read artists' bios and origins in bulk
See an artist's name in another store

Good to know before you build.

Results are artists only. Songs, albums and playlists have search endpoints of their own that take the same query.
Results are in Apple Music's order for the query. Apple serves a limited number of results per search, however many match, and the walk then ends with page.end_reason platform_limit.
Results differ by store: an artist can be missing from one or have another language's name and bio. platform_specific.applemusic.storefront says which store answered.
Apple shows no follower or other counts for an artist, so metrics are null. The artist's songs, albums and other sections are [] and named in unknown_fields: the Apple Music Artist API returns them.
When Apple's catalog API fails, the first page comes from its public search API and ends the walk with platform_limit: type is unknown and bio, location, the pictures, born_or_formed and is_group are null. A request with lang stays on the catalog API, since the search API can't honor it.
A language the store doesn't offer isn't refused: Apple answers in the store's own language.
An empty query or an Apple Music link returns invalid_input. A link to a platform we don't cover is searched as words.

1 credit per page. Failed requests are free.

Buy credits once and spend them on any endpoint, on any platform.

Plans and packs How this endpoint is priced How credits work

Source	Price per successful page	Per 1,000 pages
Platform API `api`	1 credit	$0.75–$1.97

Cache hits are free.
Credits from packs and top-ups never expire.
A monthly plan's credits are spent first, and what is left of them ends at each renewal.
Prices exclude tax: sales tax is added at checkout where it applies.
Outside the US, plans and packs are sold to businesses: checkout asks for your VAT, GST or other business tax ID.

Questions about the Apple Music Artist Search API.

Try it with your own search.

Type it in the playground, or copy the request into your code.

free credits

No credit card
Failed requests are free
Works on all 218 endpoints

Start for free Read the docs

Apple Music Artist Search API. Artists matching your search.