Author Topic: LastFM changes to API (02/05/19)  (Read 41044 times)

Steven

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Let me know exactly what needs to be done and I can probably do it.
thanks for the offer to help. In the end i have decided to integrate similar artist searching via the spotify api directly into musicbee and have a rough version working.

zkhcohen

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Let me know exactly what needs to be done and I can probably do it.
thanks for the offer to help. In the end i have decided to integrate similar artist searching via the spotify api directly into musicbee and have a rough version working.

Awesome! Glad to hear that it's working.

The Spotify API can be a pain.

Steven

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This is where things are at and what I am planning to do:
- Currently MusicBee exceeds app level rate limits by 10x ie. the requests would need to be reduced to 10% of current usage. Scrobbling is not affected for existing users, but new users cant reliably make the first connection to log on.
- I have identified track love, play count sync, similar artists and artist biographies as key functions that could be kept without exceeding the limits.
- However even when the new MusicBee version is released it will take many months before the reduced usage takes effect because older MB versions will still be in use. So last.fm usage will be unreliable for a long time without some other action.
- I have proposed to last.fm that MusicBee be allowed to use a new API key and the existing key revoked after a period of time, so allowing users of the new MB version to reliably use last.fm and eventually forcing all MB users to the new version.
- last.fm have not responded to this proposal and for now my working assumption is they will either ignore or decline it. I am not planning to get a new API key without their approval.
- So on the working assumption that last.fm will be unreliable for a long time, I have started looking at alternatives to last.fm:
  - Already done is artist bio retrieval from Wikipedia
  - For similar artists a rough working version using Spotify has been done. The downside is you will need a Spotify account to make use of it
  - For playcounts and scrobbling, forum members have suggested listenbrainz. I haven't looked at this yet but it sounds promising. The downside is users would need to export their last.fm playcounts to listenbrainz.
  - For other functions like artist picture retrieval my offer is to provide an API if someone is willing to write a plugin

zkhcohen

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  - For other functions like artist picture retrieval my offer is to provide an API if someone is willing to write a plugin

A temporary workaround would be to use the "Images" key from the Artist Object in the Spotify API:

https://developer.spotify.com/documentation/web-api/reference/artists/get-artist/

https://developer.spotify.com/documentation/web-api/reference/object-model/#image-object


You would also want to use the Client Credentials Flow for the higher rate limit.


It looks like Discogs' API is another option, and they have a published rate-limit of 60 requests per-minute, per-IP:

https://www.discogs.com/developers/#page:home,header:home-rate-limiting


Outside of a sketchy web-scraper, I don't see any options that wouldn't require some form of authentication.

Steven

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does anyone has a good icon to replace the current scrobbling icon?


Bee-liever

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does anyone has a good icon to replace the current scrobbling icon?


also in vector (SVG)
MusicBee and my library - Making bee-utiful music together

eddiestrike

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I am really disheartened over this whole thing. I made my last.fm account just because of MusicBee and how it integrated with it. They gained a customer because of MusicBee and now they're throwing us under the bus.

My playcounts and loved tracks are essential to my music listening experience. Really hope this gets resolved.  :'(

Mauser69

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I made my last.fm account just because of MusicBee and how it integrated with it. They gained a customer because of MusicBee and now they're throwing us under the bus.
Steven, I am sorry the boneheads at lastfm are making life miserable for you.  I do think you are taking the right attitude about this, and I really thank you for all the hard work you put into this app!

I am not a big lastfm user, but I did create an account there only because of the integration with MusicBee, so I am another customer they got specifically from you.  Although I have been slowly using lastfm more as time went on, after this fiasco, I now have absolutely NO interest in them at all.  I freely agree with the "SCREW THEM" approach.

Whatever changes you make to use other services and options will be the right ones.  I will absolutely continue to use MusicBee and NOT use lastfm.

KatyLB

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Retracted
Last Edit: May 11, 2019, 05:15:00 PM by KatyLB

Steven

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Hi KatyLB - i have sent you a PM with the details

stardepp

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Quote
Hallo, dies ist eine der Last.fm Moderatoren hier.

Ich kam in der oben auf Reddit, und ich bin sicher , dass dies (der fett gedruckten Teil) keine beabsichtigte Wirkung des API Limits ist und ich werde es als ein Problem mit dem Team erhöhen.

Ich bin auch nicht klar, ob diese ganze Frage bestimmt ist, weil die Rate Limiting, wie ich es verstehe, sollte durch eine Begrenzung der Anzahl der scrobbles (und nur scrobbles) Missbrauch von scrobbling verhindern, dass Benutzer an einem Tag machen können. Mein Verständnis ist, dass dies die Menschen daran zu hindern, die Website missbräuchlich von Zehntausenden von scrobbles pro Tag zu machen, und die Grenzen gesetzt sind über das, was jeder Benutzer treffen könnte, wenn sie ihre Streams legitim sind Scrobbeln. Also, es gibt absolut keine Möglichkeit, Ihre Probleme mit der Anwendung einfach Scrobbeln mit werden sollten, wenn Sie scrobbling korrekt per API und andere Anwendungen (wie foobar2000, die ich verwenden) implementiert haben, werden keine solchen Probleme mit, so dass ich bin mir nicht sicher warum die Leute können nicht einmal eine Verbindung scrobble.


What this means in simple terms? How can we MusicBee users all of the load.FM Scrobble function fully? We do not need the Scrobble service miss.

redwing

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- Currently MusicBee exceeds app level rate limits by 10x ie. the requests would need to be reduced to 10% of current usage. Scrobbling is not affected for existing users, but new users cant reliably make the first connection to log on.
- I have identified track love, play count sync, similar artists and artist biographies as key functions that could be kept without exceeding the limits.

Does that mean about 90% of the current usage of their API from MB users is for downloading artist pictures & album covers?

eddiestrike

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I would gladly pay for a lastfm+ account if it meant allowing us to have old API relationship back. No idea if this would be possible on their end though.  :o

decon

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Aw this sucks. Too bad last.fm are so hard to deal with.

Might my issues relating to syncing loved tracks to auto playlists in MB?

My auto playlist with Love == Loved contains 389 tracks. However, the last.fm playlist generator contains 415 tracks. I have 469 loved tracks on last.fm (I don't know if this is because MB only syncs loved tracks that I have in my library).