Content Restrictions (self-serve plans)

How restricted lyrics and subtitles are handled in API responses.

This page covers content restrictions for self-serve plans. For Enterprise plan restrictions, see Content Restrictions for Enterprise plan.

Restrictions on content are applied for a number of reasons; however, it all comes down to preserving copyright owners and preventing legal queries.

Within every API response that includes certain track-related content (e.g., lyrics or subtitles) we will provide information on whether it is restricted or not. When we are not authorized to display certain content, we will not display it (e.g., lyrics body or subtitle body) in the endpoint’s response and will mark it as restricted. Where suitable, we will provide a message stating that we are not authorized to show the lyrics.

This behaviour is applied to three distinct cases:

• An artist is restricted
• A single track is restricted worldwide
• A single track is restricted in a specific country (or countries)

Examples

1. Matcher.track.get for the track “Only Shallow” by My Bloody Valentine.

The artist is restricted worldwide.

{
    "message": {
        "header": {
            "status_code": 200,
            "execute_time": 0.015407085418701,
            "mode": null,
            "cached": null
        },
        "body": {
            "track": {
                "track_id": 17285071,
                "track_isrc": "USWB10101903",
                "commontrack_isrcs": [
                    [
                        "USWB10101903",
                        "USMTD9509802",
                        "GBCEL2000150"
                    ]
                ],
                "track_spotify_id": "52UcjsM15hjCQAUbTW2hy1",
                "track_name": "Only Shallow",
                "track_rating": 46,
                "track_length": 258,
                "commontrack_id": 1126634,
                "instrumental": 0,
                "explicit": 0,
                "has_lyrics": 1,
                "has_subtitles": 1,
                "has_richsync": 1,
                "num_favourite": 44,
                "album_id": 70645357,
                "album_name": "Loveless",
                "artist_id": 8665,
                "artist_name": "My Bloody Valentine",
                "album_coverart_100x100": "http://s.mxmcdn.net/images-storage/albums/nocover.png",
                "album_coverart_350x350": "",
                "album_coverart_500x500": "",
                "album_coverart_800x800": "",
                "track_share_url": "https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/My-Bloody-Valentine/Only-Shallow?utm_source=application&utm_campaign=api&utm_medium=Musixmatch%3A1409625777994",
                "track_edit_url": "https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/My-Bloody-Valentine/Only-Shallow/edit?utm_source=application&utm_campaign=api&utm_medium=Musixmatch%3A1409625777994",
                "restricted": 1,
                "updated_time": "2024-05-31T15:22:14Z",
                "primary_genres": {
                    "music_genre_list": [
                        {
                            "music_genre": {
                                "music_genre_id": 20,
                                "music_genre_parent_id": 34,
                                "music_genre_name": "Alternative",
                                "music_genre_name_extended": "Alternative",
                                "music_genre_vanity": "Alternative"
                            }
                        }
                    ]
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

2. Track.lyrics.get for the track “Azzurro” by Adriano Celentano.

The track is restricted only in Italy.

{
    "message": {
        "header": {
            "status_code": 200,
            "execute_time": 0.056041955947876
        },
        "body": {
            "lyrics": {
                "lyrics_id": 23793322,
                "explicit": 0,
                "lyrics_body": "",
                "lyrics_language": "it",
                "script_tracking_url": "https://tracking.musixmatch.com/t1.0/m_js/e_0/sn_0/l_23793322/su_0/rs_0/tr_.....7HEJ/",
                "pixel_tracking_url": "https://tracking.musixmatch.com/t1.0/m_img/e_0/sn_0/l_23793322/su_0/rs_0/tr_.....DhG8/",
                "lyrics_copyright": "Unfortunately we're not authorized to show these lyrics.",
                "updated_time": "2024-07-17T13:48:17Z"
            }
        }
    }
}