Artlist API – Integrate Royalty-Free Music into Your App or Platform


Artlist API

What is the Artlist API?

The Artlist API (often called the Artlist Enterprise API or Artlist Music API) is a REST-based developer interface that lets business customers plug Artlist's premium music catalog directly into their own products.

According to Artlist’s official developer docs, the API allows clients to browse, search, stream and download songs from the catalog programmatically.

This means you can build apps where users discover and use Artlist tracks without ever leaving your product as long as you have an appropriate Business/Enterprise agreement and API access.

Key capabilities of the Artlist Music API

Artlist positions its API as a way to “seamlessly integrate highest-quality, royalty-free music into digital platforms. Core capabilities include:

1. Catalog search and discovery

The API exposes the full Artlist catalog with rich metadata, so you can:

  • Search songs by mood, genre, energy level, instruments, tempo and narrative themes.

  • Filter by custom “dictionaries” such as tags, categories or use-case labels.

  • Retrieve individual songs by ID using endpoints like GET /search/v1/song/:id.

This makes it possible to build advanced search experiences like “late-night city drive”, “uplifting tech intro”, or “peaceful study beats” inside your own UI.

2. Streaming and preview

The Enterprise API is designed so apps can stream and preview tracks directly from Artlist’s infrastructure.

You can, for example:

  • Render waveform players in your product

  • Scrub through songs, skip, or loop sections

  • Offer “audition” playlists for users before they commit a track to their project

(Exact streaming endpoints and formats live in the API reference.)

3. Download & asset delivery

Once a user has chosen a track under your licensed terms, the API supports downloading full-quality audio for sync into videos, podcasts, games, etc.

Typical flows include:

  • Downloading WAV/MP3 assets to your servers for rendering

  • Generating secure download links for end users

  • Caching frequently used tracks in your infrastructure (within your agreement limits)

4. Enterprise-grade metadata

Artlist’s blog highlights that the Music API ships rich metadata for each asset: mood, energy, genre, instruments and narrative-friendly tags.

That metadata is what enables:

  • Smart recommendations (“more like this”)

  • Personalized soundtracks for each user

  • Auto-soundtrack features that pick music based on project settings or templates

Common use cases for the Artlist API

Artlist specifically markets its API to creative and media-focused platforms, especially under its Business plan.

Here are the most common use cases:

1. Online video editors & creative tools

  • Web or desktop video editors

  • Slideshow or reel makers

  • Social clip generators

Using the API, you can embed a “Choose music from Artlist” panel, search the catalog, and drop tracks straight onto a user’s timeline.

2. Podcast and audio creation platforms

  • Podcast recording/editing tools

  • Audio storytelling apps

  • Radio/streaming show builders

The API lets users browse podcast-friendly beds, intros and stingers from inside your app, then sync them directly to episodes.

3. Social & marketing platforms

  • Marketing automation tools with built-in video builders

  • Social campaign creators (for Reels, Shorts, TikToks)

  • Template-based ad generators

Here the API powers ready-to-use audio packs for templates: the user picks a template, and your app fetches suitable Artlist tracks automatically.

4. Games & interactive experiences

  • Light games or interactive web experiences

  • In-app background music for creative tools

Apps can map game levels or in-app scenes to moods/energy levels and fetch matching tracks via the Music API.

How authentication and access work

Enterprise-only access

The Artlist API is not a public, self-serve API you can sign up for with a regular creator account. It’s intended for enterprise and business customers:

  • Artlist’s Business plan docs mention integrating sound and visuals “through direct integration, including the Artlist Music API.”

  • You typically need a Business/Enterprise contract and a dedicated account manager to get credentials.

OAuth 2.0 and API keys

From the developer docs:

  • Artlist uses OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials flow for secure server-to-server authentication.

  • Clients receive API keys and client credentials (currently issued by an account manager, with a self-service dev portal planned).

The high-level pattern:

  1. Your backend calls the Artlist auth endpoint with your client ID/secret.

  2. You receive an access token (JWT or opaque token).

  3. You attach this token as an Authorization: Bearer <token> header on subsequent catalog/stream/download calls.

Because this is a server-to-server model, tokens are meant to be handled on your backend, not exposed directly in a public front-end app.

Overview of core endpoints

The full REST reference lives at developer.artlist.io, but at a high level, the Enterprise API includes controllers like:

  • Search endpoints

    • GET /search/v1/song – query songs with filters (e.g., category IDs, moods).

    • Supporting “dictionary” endpoints to list genres, moods, tags, etc.

  • Song detail endpoints

    • GET /search/v1/song/:id – fetch a single song object by ID.

  • Catalog utilities

    • Endpoints to retrieve lists of categories, instruments, moods and other classification dictionaries.

  • Standard REST responses

    • Uses typical HTTP status codes (200 success, 400 bad request, 401 unauthorized, 403 forbidden, 404 not found, 429 rate limit, etc.).

Exact request bodies, query parameters and response schemas are documented in the official API reference.

Example integration flow (conceptual)

Here’s a simplified workflow for adding Artlist music search to a video editor:

  1. Authenticate on your backend

    • Use OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials to get an access token from Artlist.

  2. Expose a search UI in your app

    • Let users choose mood, genre, tempo, etc.

    • Collect these filters and send them from your front-end to your backend.

  3. Call the Artlist search endpoint

    • Your backend calls GET /search/v1/song with the user’s filters and your access token.

    • You return a sanitized subset of results (title, artist, duration, preview URL, artwork).

  4. Stream previews

    • Use the preview URLs or your own proxy to play 30–60s snippets in your UI.

  5. Handle selection download

    • When the user confirms a track, your backend requests a download link/file from Artlist.

    • You store the asset or stream it into your rendering pipeline, respecting your license terms.

  6. Report & logging

    • Keep internal logs of which tracks are used where (campaign IDs, user IDs), so you can answer licensing questions later.

Licensing & legal considerations

The API gives you technical access to Artlist’s catalog, but you still need proper licensing coverage:

  • Your Business/Enterprise contract defines where and how tracks can be used (web, in-app, broadcast, territories, etc.).

  • You’re responsible for ensuring that end-user projects created in your app comply with those terms.

  • If your app lets users publish directly to YouTube or other platforms, remember that Artlist’s own clients use YouTube and OpenAI APIs, with extra terms around those integrations.

In other words: the Artlist API is not a blanket “do anything you want” music pipe it’s a controlled integration under a commercial license.

Getting started with the Artlist API

If you’re considering integrating it into your product, here’s a simple checklist:

  1. Define your use case

    • Video editor, podcast platform, marketing tool, social app, game, etc.

  2. Talk to Artlist sales / business team

    • Ask about Business or Enterprise plans that include the Artlist Music API.

  3. Request developer access

    • Once you have a commercial agreement, get API keys and client credentials via your account manager.

  4. Read the docs at developer.artlist.io

    • Authentication, endpoints, dictionaries and response formats.

  5. Prototype in a staging environment

    • Build a small internal prototype for search + preview before wiring up production workflows.

  6. Design UX around your license

    • Make sure your UI only presents options that fit your specific license (e.g., no misleading “unlimited publishing” if your agreement is more limited).

Final thoughts

The Artlist API turns Artlist from “just a website you download from” into a full audio platform your app can tap into directly. With OAuth-secured access to their catalog, rich metadata, and streaming/download endpoints, you can give users professional soundtracks without sending them to an external site provided you have the right Business or Enterprise agreement.