List of online music databases


Below is a table of online music databases that are largely free of charge. Note that many of the sites provide a specialized service or focus on a particular music genre. Some of these operate as an online music store or purchase referral service in some capacity. Among the sites that have information on the largest number of entities are those sites that focus on discographies of composing and performing artists.
DatabaseServicesNo. of tracksNo. of releasesNo. of artistsNotesLicenseFull free access
ACRCloudMusic recognition & audio based music retrieval~40,000,000Commercially available with SDKs, APIs for file scanning, airplay monitoring, shazam-liked featuresFree trial available in 15 days
AllMusicMusic information and reviews.~20,000,000~2,200,000Song samples only.
Choral Public Domain LibrarySheet music archive of choral and vocal music in the public domain or otherwise freely available for printing and performingYes
Discogs• Database: user-generated cross-referenced database of physical & digital releases, artists, and labels. With catalogue numbers, codes, and all other markings taken directly from each release.
• Companies/organisations: cross-referencing all others involved in music production
• Images: for releases, artists, labels, and other companies/organisations listed.
• Marketplace: for trade of physical music releases.		151,200,00010,000,0005,000,000• Multi-lingual.
• Free membership.
• Marketplace lists over 35 million items.
• 1 billion edits.		PD/CC0Free API and XML data dumps.
Encyclopaedia MetallumA heavy metal encyclopedia with information, complete discography, links, images, and reviews.~1,900,000~265,000~102,000 bands, ~535,000 artists
freedbIdentification service for CDs.freedb.org and its services was shut down in June 2020.GPL.
The Freesound Projectrepository of Creative Commons-licensed audio samples.CC Sampling Plus.
GeniusAllows users to provide annotations and interpretation of song lyrics.
GracenoteIdentification service for CDs and other media.~100,000,000~8,000,0001 billion "submissions".
International Music Score Library ProjectMusic scores and parts, mostly scanned from publications now in the public domain; some recordings.42,000 14,500 composers, 387 performers.PD/CC-BY-NC-SA.
Last.fmMusic community website.~26,484,587~3,304,568~1,383,340Automatically creates online library/collection of listened to music and generates recommendations.
LyricWikiLyrics wiki on Wikia.~1,653,416~159,749~82,226Yes, but no access to the lyrics via API.
MAQAMLargest Database of Arabic and Middle Eastern music artists, tracks, and albums.20,0001,200
MetroLyricsLyrics lookup.
MuseScoreOnline sheet music sharing.Also includes free music notation software to enable a wide range of instrumental music scores to be created, printed and sharedNo—free accounts are permitted five uploads; beyond that, payment is required
MusicBrainzOpen content music database.~28,608,635~2,350,941~1,559,670GPL/LGPL/PD/CC-BY-NC-SA.Free API and XML data dumps.
MusicMightBiographies and discographies.
MusixmatchThe world's largest lyrics platform.Yes.
Mutopia Projectrepository of free content sheet music.
Prog ArchivesA Progressive rock discography and reviews.11,078Yes. Log on to submit band information
QuantoneDatabase of physical/digital products, venues, photos, artists, participants, composers, movements, labels, publishers and rights.12,000,000301,000For commercial business-to-business usage only.API available.
RateYourMusic3,368,9341,123,253
RolldabeatsDrum N Bass music database, physical releases only.
University of Pittsburgh Library System Archives Service Center
Werner Icking Music Archive
WikifoniaFree lead sheets in MusicXML format, contributed and editable by users.
WhoSampledUser-generated database of comparison between original tracks and covers, or songs that use samples.460,000150,000
DatabaseServicesNo. of tracksNo. of releasesNo. of artistsNotesLicenseFull free access