Spotify API Alternatives - Best Music APIs

by Adrian Machado

In a huge shock to app developers, Spotify announced it is sunsetting seven of its APIs effectively immediately. As reported by AndroidPolice, this is a major blow to many devs who have to throw away months of work. Most of the APIs had to do with data generated by Spotify's machine learning models - including related artists, recommended songs, and song analysis.

Table of Contents#

• Is Spotify Killing its API?
• Apple Music API
• Deezer API
• SoundCloud API
• Napster API
• 7digital API
• TIDAL API
• YouTube Music API

Is Spotify Killing its API?#

What's most disheartening is the speed at which the sunsetting took place - with developers seemingly receiving little warning (they should have read my guide on API deprecation). Given the speed of this API EOL, it creates uncertainty around the future of the Spotify API - so it makes sense to investigate potential Spotify API alternatives for your music-data driven app. So what are the best music APIs out there?

Apple Music API#

I bet you didn't expect Apple to offer an API for developers. This API covers a lot of what Spotify's API offers - including data on artists, albums, songs, music videos, and more! Apple Music API Documentation.

• Key Features: Access to Apple Music's catalog, user libraries, and personalized recommendations.
• Best For: Developers targeting iOS users and integrating with Apple’s broader ecosystem.
• Limitations: Limited to users of Apple Music and audio/music on Apple Music. Given how large Apple music is - this should not be an issue

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Deezer API#

Deezer is a smaller player in the music streaming space - but data relating to artists/songs should still have high coverage and be up to date. Deezer API Docs.

• Key Features: Similar to Spotify, offering access to tracks, albums, artists, and playlists. It also supports user-generated content.
• Best For: Apps targeting regions where Deezer has a strong presence (e.g., Europe).
• Limitations: Smaller user base compared to Spotify, so quality of recommendations may be poorer.

SoundCloud API#

If you just want an API to stream music from (especially indie music or mixtapes) than the Spotify API might be right for you. SoundCloud API Documentation.

• Key Features: Interaction with SoundCloud's platform, including uploading tracks, playlist management, and streaming.
• Best For: Apps focusing on indie music, creators, or user-uploaded content.
• Limitations: Less focus on mainstream music compared to Spotify. Doesn't provide much metadata on the tracks or artists.

Napster API#

Napster seems like an old relic from a bygone era - but it still persists as a music streaming service. And one that offers an API no-less! You can get data about Napster''s music catalog and users. Napster API docs.

• Key Features: Access to Napster's music catalog, metadata, and playback capabilities.
• Best For: Developers seeking a simpler integration for streaming and metadata.
• Limitations: Smaller market share and recognition compared to Spotify.

7digital API#

7digital is sort of a one-stop-shop when it comes to building music streaming-powered application. Their API docs even prominently feature this use-case and also allows you to facilitate music purchases.

• Key Features: High-quality music tracks with options for streaming and purchasing.
• Best For: Apps that allow users to buy music in addition to streaming.
• Limitations: Primarily focused on music retail, which may not suit all app types.

TIDAL API#

TIDAL provides a public API that offers access to TIDAL's music catalog, user data, playlists, and more. To get started, developers need to register an application via the TIDAL Developer Portal. TIDAL API docs.

• Key Features: Album, artist, and track information
• Best For: Ehh - not really sure what TIDAL is good for these days.
• Limitations: TIDAL has a small user base and only provides high-level metadata.

YouTube Music API#

YouTube Music does not offer a dedicated public API. However, developers can utilize the broader YouTube Data API to access certain YouTube Music content, such as searching for music videos, retrieving playlists, and accessing channel information. It's important to note that the YouTube Data API is not specifically tailored for YouTube Music, and some features may be limited.Youtube API docs.

Additionally, there are unofficial APIs and libraries created by the developer community to interact with YouTube Music. One such example is ytmusicapi, a Python library that emulates YouTube Music's internal API, allowing for programmatic access to various features like searching for songs, managing playlists, and retrieving user library content. Since these are unofficial, they may not be fully reliable or supported.

Conclusion#

Although it's disheartening that Spotify is starting to restrict it's API - its not really surprising given the rise of AI agents that are scraping website and platforms to extract as much information as possible. We saw this with Reddit last year, and also recently with Giphy. I wouldn't be surprised if Spotify started charging for API access in the near future. In any case - competing platforms with a lower market share can stand to gain here by offering robust and feature-rich API to attract developers and listeners alike.