Last.fm API
ws.audioscrobbler.com · Media
Music metadata, charts, and social listening data — artist bios, similar artists, top tracks, user listening history, album info, and global charts. Free API key.
Authentication
API Key authentication
Free API key at last.fm/api. Pass as ?api_key= query parameter.
Sample Requests
GET
Get artist info
Get bio and stats for The Beatles.
https://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0?artist=The Beatles&format=json&method=artist.getinfo&api_key=YOUR_KEY
Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does
curl -X GET "https://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/?artist=The%20Beatles&format=json&method=artist.getinfo&api_key=YOUR_KEY"
import requests
params = {
"artist": "The Beatles",
"format": "json",
"method": "artist.getinfo",
"api_key": "YOUR_KEY"
}
response = requests.get(
"https://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/",
params=params,
)
print(response.json())const url = new URL('https://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/');
url.searchParams.set('artist', 'The Beatles');
url.searchParams.set('format', 'json');
url.searchParams.set('method', 'artist.getinfo');
url.searchParams.set('api_key', 'YOUR_KEY');
const response = await fetch(url);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
"net/url"
)
func main() {
baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/")
q := baseURL.Query()
q.Set("artist", "The Beatles")
q.Set("format", "json")
q.Set("method", "artist.getinfo")
q.Set("api_key", "YOUR_KEY")
baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
targetURL := baseURL.String()
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)
client := &http.Client{}
resp, _ := client.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require "net/http"
require "json"
uri = URI("https://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
"artist" => "The Beatles",
"format" => "json",
"method" => "artist.getinfo",
"api_key" => "YOUR_KEY"
})
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)<?php
$url = "https://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/?" . http_build_query([
"artist" => "The Beatles",
"format" => "json",
"method" => "artist.getinfo",
"api_key" => "YOUR_KEY"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
"method" => "GET",
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));
GET
Get top charts
Get the global top artists chart.
https://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0?limit=5&format=json&method=chart.gettopartists&api_key=YOUR_KEY
Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does
curl -X GET "https://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/?limit=5&format=json&method=chart.gettopartists&api_key=YOUR_KEY"
import requests
params = {
"limit": "5",
"format": "json",
"method": "chart.gettopartists",
"api_key": "YOUR_KEY"
}
response = requests.get(
"https://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/",
params=params,
)
print(response.json())const url = new URL('https://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/');
url.searchParams.set('limit', '5');
url.searchParams.set('format', 'json');
url.searchParams.set('method', 'chart.gettopartists');
url.searchParams.set('api_key', 'YOUR_KEY');
const response = await fetch(url);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
"net/url"
)
func main() {
baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/")
q := baseURL.Query()
q.Set("limit", "5")
q.Set("format", "json")
q.Set("method", "chart.gettopartists")
q.Set("api_key", "YOUR_KEY")
baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
targetURL := baseURL.String()
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)
client := &http.Client{}
resp, _ := client.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require "net/http"
require "json"
uri = URI("https://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
"limit" => "5",
"format" => "json",
"method" => "chart.gettopartists",
"api_key" => "YOUR_KEY"
})
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)<?php
$url = "https://ws.audioscrobbler.com/2.0/?" . http_build_query([
"limit" => "5",
"format" => "json",
"method" => "chart.gettopartists",
"api_key" => "YOUR_KEY"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
"method" => "GET",
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));Postman Setup Guide
- Get a free API key at last.fm/api
- Always add &format=json to get JSON (default is XML)
- Artist info: ?method=artist.getinfo&artist=Radiohead&api_key=KEY&format=json
- Similar artists: ?method=artist.getsimilar&artist=Coldplay&api_key=KEY&format=json
- Top tracks: ?method=chart.gettoptracks&api_key=KEY&format=json
What can you build with Last.fm API?
Last.fm API is a Media API. Developers commonly use media APIs for:
- storing and delivering images, video, and audio
- building digital asset management and media libraries
- transcoding and optimising media for the web
- adding video streaming and playback to your app
- automating content tagging and metadata extraction
API Key authentication. You'll receive a key after signing up. Send it with every request — in a header or query parameter. Keep it out of client-side code and never commit it to version control. Last.fm API is free to use up to a usage limit, making it a low-risk choice to experiment with.
New to APIs? Read our beginner's guide