Changes to Web API

[Loneliest_Cabin]

Folks, some news on changes to the web API has been posted on the Spotify For Developers blog.

We want to reiterate the main message from the blog that we're committed to providing a safe and secure environment for all Spotify stakeholders. As such we have recently made some important changes related to access to some of our endpoints and functionality. You can read the details on the blog: https://developer.spotify.com/blog/2024-11-27-changes-to-the-web-api

We are here to listen to any feedback you may have. 

[DisappointedUser1]

I was a Spotify paying users since around 2012, but with this update they forced my hand. 

[lainecedes]

Imagine my shock when I wanted to reboot and test out my recommendations app that was made in uni for an internship interview the day later. Went debugging and saw the blog... I built my entire app around the recommendations endpoint and now it's... gone? Without even a notice prior? I even use this for own use to create playlists based on these recommended tracks. I really hope this is reconsidered, because my code and hard work is basically useless now

[DHM2]

Dear oneliest_Cabin,

We’re sorry to told you that we recently experienced an attack on our web API (development mode), which resulted in web API status being disabled.

Could you kindly assist us in re-enabling the web API? We urgently need it restored.

Please let us know if any additional information or steps are required from our side.

Thank you for your support.

Best regards,
Maggie

[Large]

Removal of the https://developer.spotify.com/documentation/web-api/reference/get-featured-playlists API is a rotten thing to do, specially for us Squeezebox owners!

The AI generating new playlist are so good and have given our family a lot of good experiences in music genre we normally do not do. Integration on the system is Spotify key to success, closing things or remove without giving an alternativ is a user-drop waiting to happen.

[helvetian]

In the same boat. After 6 months of work and ready to deploy to production I now have a crippled app.

Disabling `/browse/categories/{category_id}/playlists` makes absolutely no sense to me as now I can't get all the playlists that I am subscribed to.

Thanks Spotify. Much love from me.

[cdt87]

Like many of the developers here have already stated, I too spent months working on an app using these exact endpoints which were essential to the functionality of my app.  This type of data isn't really available anywhere else, so this makes my app and many others that use this functionality completely useless.  I hope Spotify reconsiders this decision and brings these endpoints back or creates new and improved versions of them, otherwise I question what the purpose of the API other than just providing the ability to look up an artist you already know.

At this point, even if Spotify added new features to their API, I would be too afraid to use them for fear that they'll just randomly take them away again without warning.  Maybe that's the point, though, is removing features under the guise of making the platform "more secure" so developers just stop using their API altogether. Either way, this is a very disappointing decision that resulted in a lot of developers wasting their time.

[jroine]

I used to control home disco-lights with the audio analysis data, but now that Spotify has taken down the API, I suppose I need to start generating the audio analysis data locally for the music I listen. Is it known what tools Spotify used to generate the analysis?

Edit: Found out that an open-source tool called Essentia could be used to extract enough attributes at least for my purpose. I believe with a little effort it could be used to extract the same parameters as Spotify's audio analysis API provided.

[miskreant]

I had a created a cron job that would copy my "Discover Weekly" and "Release Radar" playlists every week, into my own combined playlist, so that can stay up to date on songs I like and review them. It was like my own personal RSS feed of new music. This was great because:

1) If I missed listening to one of the discover / release playlists while on vacation or something, I could still capture any of the new suggestions to review.
2) If there are songs I don't like, I can easily REMOVE THEM from my joint playlist -- something I can not do with the Release Radar and Discover Weekly. 

I would honestly say this represented about 80% of my listening habits. By removing this API, you really broke a fundamental use case that I enjoyed from your platform. I am now considering alternatives.. sigh.

[ldjbUK]

Please bring back the ability to access the Discover Weekly and Release Radar playlists through the API.

I was really puzzled about why my code wasn't working; such a shame this is no longer available.

[btarifi10]

Like everyone else here, I've spent a couple months building something. In my case I was using the audio features API to get insights into a user's listening - no machine learning model training involved. I didn't get a chance to work on it these past few weeks and then when I finally did today, I spent an hour trying to figure out why I'm getting 403 responses.

I hope Spotify reconsiders this move, complete breaking of trust with its customer base.

[soundstat]

SoundStat API – Track Features and Recommendations for Everyone!

Hey! I launched SoundStat API – a service for detailed music analysis. If you need to know the tempo, key, energy level, or other track characteristics, this is exactly what you need. https://soundstat.info

What can the API do?
✅Track analysis – detailed data on tempo, loudness, danceability, and more.
✅Recommendations – three free endpoints to find similar tracks.
✅Search – filter tracks by genres and audio features.
✅Analysis status – track the processing of your tracks in real time.

How to get started?
1️⃣Get an API key after registration.
2️⃣Try the free features – three endpoints available without restrictions.
3️⃣Pay only for unique track analysis requests – the more requests, the lower the cost.

📌Documentation & Examples: https://soundstat.info/api/v1/docs

I’d love to hear your feedback! If you have any questions – feel free to ask! 🚀

[bazingatorade]

The only problem is you'll likely get banned sooner or later, you and your good old API key, you know that don't you ?

That's why your service can hardly be considered as a temporary fix, unfortunately.

[soundstat]

Why should he be banned, and by whom? I conducted an independent analysis
of the tracks, and everything is analyzed and stored with us. We do not
store audio files, only general track data that was previously available in
audio features.

[kingosticks4]

Where does the audio come from that you analyse? If I request a track only available in a certain region, will it work?

[bazingatorade]

I'm not saying you "should" be banned.
I'm saying that's what Spotify will eventually do to you, unfortunately.

And probably they'll be able to quickly check if it's their data or not you're reselling. 
Easy like comparing results of a 10 songs sample.

Also, if you only have previous data, it's make this irrelevant for songs released past that point.

Sorry, It's not against you, i'm just telling it like it is.

[soundstat]

If the track is already in the database, you will receive an answer
immediately. If it is not in the database, it will be queued for analysis.
The result is usually available within 2-5 minutes. Requested tracks are
given a special status and priority.

[soundstat]

Yes, I completely understand you and Spotify's general policy, especially
considering the closure of API endpoints that I and many others have used.
We'll see how this turns out.

[kingosticks4]

Where does the audio come from that you analyse? You're asking for money. So how does it work? Why won't it be gone tomorrow?

[soundstat]

Money is necessary to keep the system running. Right now, everything is
funded from my personal finances, but unfortunately, money tends to run out
quickly. One way or another, this project is not something that can
generate a lot of profit. Whether it will disappear or not depends on many
factors that are very difficult to predict. There are no big finances or
companies behind me—just altruism, interest, and optimism.

[kingosticks4]

3rd time lucky:

Where does the audio come from that you analyse?