Tools
Name/MusicBio
Returns a biography of a person or group involved in music and a biographical overview.
This request may return a large amount of data. To speed data transmission, request a compressed response by including Accept-Encoding: gzip,deflate in the HTTP header.
Syntax
| name/musicbio? | name=name nameid=nameid cosmoid=cosmoid amgpopid=amgpopid amgmovieid=amgmovieid amgclassicalid=amgclassicalid |
&apikey=apikey&sig=sig [&format=format] [&country=country] [&language=language] |
Request Example 1
- Request a biography of Barbra Streisand.
Request Example 2
- Also request a biographical overview in German.
Request Parameters
Click to re-sort
| Parameter | Required | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| apikey | Yes | Access code that authorizes your request for data from Rovi. | ||
| sig | Yes | A calculated, 32-hex-digit authorization code. To perform the calculation, execute the MD5 function on the concatenation of the following three ASCII strings:
Express the alpha hex digits as lower case. Perform the calculation at the time of each request to be sure it's within a five-minute window of the server time. If you're testing the call in a browser, use our online signature generator to perform the calculation. | ||
| amgclassicalid | Conditional | All Media Guide (AMG) ID for a classical music artist, consisting of a ten-character string that starts with Q and is followed by nine digits with leading spaces. For example: Q 9065. When using an AMG Classical ID in a request, replace any spaces in the ID with plus (+) or percent20 (%20) symbols, like this: Q+++++9065. AMG is a legacy database of entertainment information. Condition: The request must contain just one of these parameters:
| ||
| amgmovieid | Conditional | All Media Guide (AMG) ID for a person who works in movies, consisting of a seven-character string that starts with P and is followed by 6 digits with leading spaces. For example: P 30474. When using an AMG Movie ID in a request, replace any spaces in the ID with plus (+) or percent20 (%20) symbols, like this: P+30474. Condition: The request must contain just one of these parameters:
| ||
| amgpopid | Conditional | All Media Guide (AMG) ID for a popular music artist, consisting of a ten-character string that starts with P and is followed by 9 digits with leading spaces. For example: P 84363. When using an AMG Pop ID in a request, replace any spaces in the ID with plus (+) or percent20 (%20) symbols, like this: P++++84363. Condition: The request must contain just one of these parameters:
| ||
| cosmoid | Conditional | Cosmo database ID for a person, group, or organization. You can get Cosmo IDs with Search requests. Cosmo is a database of television data.
Condition: The request must contain just one of these parameters:
| ||
| name | Conditional | Name of the person or group. This returns the top search result for that name. Replace any spaces with plus (+) or percent20 (%20) symbols.
Condition: The request must contain just one of these parameters:
| ||
| nameid | Conditional | Rovi Music ID for a person, group, or organization, consisting of the prefix MN followed by a ten-digit number. For example: MN0000114342. Your application can grab name IDs from responses to Search and from Info, Credits, Tracks, and Recommendations requests. For a complete list of requests that return name IDs, click here.
Condition: The request must contain just one of these parameters:
| ||
| country | No | Country the language parameter applies to. The current release of the API supports only US. | ||
| format | No | Format of the returned data: json or xml. The default is JSON. | ||
| language | No | Language of the returned biographical overview. The following case-insensitive languages are supported:
|
Response
Response Header
| Response | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| build | string | The software release level of the API. |
| code | integer | HTTP status code. See the status field for the text part of the code. |
| duration | integer | Server processing time in milliseconds. The difference between startTime and endTime. |
| endTime | string | When the server sent the response (UTC time). |
| messages | Message [ ] | Elements of a multiple HTTP response status message. |
| parameters | parameters | The parameters that were included in the request. |
| parentIds | parentIds | All of the IDs for the requested name that are recognized by the Name API. |
| serverName | string | Name of the server that processed the request. |
| startTime | string | When the server received the request (UTC time). |
| status | string | Text part of the HTTP status code, which is shown in the code field. |
Response for Name/MusicBio
| Response | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| author | string | Author of the biography. |
| text | string | The biography. |
| musicBioOverview | NameMusicBioOverview [ ] | Biographical overview in the language specified in the request. |
JSON Response Example
- Here's the response to Request Example 2, which asks for a biography of Barbra Streisand with a biographical overview in German. The response has been edited to reduce the length and formatted with extra spaces and carriage returns to make it easy to read.
- Requested with http://api.rovicorp.com/data/v1.1/name/musicbio?apikey=apikey&sig=sig&
nameid=MN0000855531&language=german.
{
"status": "ok",
"code": 200,
"messages": null,
"build": "1.5.1.9",
"parameters": {
"apiKey": "apikey",
"id": "MN0000855531"
},
"serverName": "tul1cssw3",
"startTime": "2011-04-28T22:05:02.1905728Z",
"endTime": "2011-04-28T22:05:02.1905728Z",
"duration": 0,
"parentIds": {
"amgClassicalId": "Q 55199",
"amgMovieId": "P112652",
"amgPopId": "P 3153",
"cosmoId": "101344",
"nameId": "MN0000855531"
},
"musicBio": {
"text": "b. Barbra Joan Streisand, 24 April 1942, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. A celebrated actress, singer, and film producer, from childhood Streisand was eager to make a career in showbusiness, happily singing and ‘playacting’ for neighbours in Brooklyn, where she was born and raised. At the age of 15, she had a trial run with a theatrical company in upstate New York and by 1959, the year she graduated, was convinced that she could make a success of her chosen career. She still sang for fun, but was set on being a stage actress. The lack of opportunities in straight plays drove her to try singing instead and she entered and won a talent contest at The Lion, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. The prize was a booking at the club and this was followed by more club work, including an engagement at the Bon Soir which was later extended and established her as a fast-rising new singer. Appearances in off-Broadway revues followed, in which she acted and sang.
As a performer, Streisand is one of the greatest showbusiness phenomenon of recent times. As of 2005, she was ranked as the top-selling female recording artist of all-time in the USA. Her wide vocal range and a voice which unusually blends sweetness with strength, helps make her one of the outstanding dramatic singers in popular music. Her insistence upon perfection has meant that her many records are exemplars for other singers.",
"author": "",
"musicBioOverview": [
{
"overview": "[roviLink="MN"]Barbra Streisand[/roviLink]s Rang als eine der erfolgreichsten Sängerinnen ihrer Generation verwundert umso mehr, als ihre Beliebtheit direkt unter der Nase eines dominierenden Musiktrends anwuchs-- [roviLink="MA"]Rock & Roll[/roviLink] --, dem sie nicht folgte und weil sie, trotz ihrer unglaublichen Stimme, die jeden, der sie hört in ihren Bann schlägt, Musik immer nur als Trittbrett für ihre anderen Karrieren benutzt hat, sei es als Bühnen- und Filmschauspielerin oder als Regisseurin. Nach ihrem ersten Album [roviLink="MW"]The Barbra Streisand Album[/roviLink] wurde aus ihr eine der sich am besten verkaufenden Künstlerinnen der frühen 60er Jahre. ~ William Ruhlmann",
"author": "William Ruhlmann",
"language": "German"
}
]
}
}
"status": "ok",
"code": 200,
"messages": null,
"build": "1.5.1.9",
"parameters": {
"apiKey": "apikey",
"id": "MN0000855531"
},
"serverName": "tul1cssw3",
"startTime": "2011-04-28T22:05:02.1905728Z",
"endTime": "2011-04-28T22:05:02.1905728Z",
"duration": 0,
"parentIds": {
"amgClassicalId": "Q 55199",
"amgMovieId": "P112652",
"amgPopId": "P 3153",
"cosmoId": "101344",
"nameId": "MN0000855531"
},
"musicBio": {
"text": "b. Barbra Joan Streisand, 24 April 1942, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. A celebrated actress, singer, and film producer, from childhood Streisand was eager to make a career in showbusiness, happily singing and ‘playacting’ for neighbours in Brooklyn, where she was born and raised. At the age of 15, she had a trial run with a theatrical company in upstate New York and by 1959, the year she graduated, was convinced that she could make a success of her chosen career. She still sang for fun, but was set on being a stage actress. The lack of opportunities in straight plays drove her to try singing instead and she entered and won a talent contest at The Lion, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. The prize was a booking at the club and this was followed by more club work, including an engagement at the Bon Soir which was later extended and established her as a fast-rising new singer. Appearances in off-Broadway revues followed, in which she acted and sang.
As a performer, Streisand is one of the greatest showbusiness phenomenon of recent times. As of 2005, she was ranked as the top-selling female recording artist of all-time in the USA. Her wide vocal range and a voice which unusually blends sweetness with strength, helps make her one of the outstanding dramatic singers in popular music. Her insistence upon perfection has meant that her many records are exemplars for other singers.",
"author": "",
"musicBioOverview": [
{
"overview": "[roviLink="MN"]Barbra Streisand[/roviLink]s Rang als eine der erfolgreichsten Sängerinnen ihrer Generation verwundert umso mehr, als ihre Beliebtheit direkt unter der Nase eines dominierenden Musiktrends anwuchs-- [roviLink="MA"]Rock & Roll[/roviLink] --, dem sie nicht folgte und weil sie, trotz ihrer unglaublichen Stimme, die jeden, der sie hört in ihren Bann schlägt, Musik immer nur als Trittbrett für ihre anderen Karrieren benutzt hat, sei es als Bühnen- und Filmschauspielerin oder als Regisseurin. Nach ihrem ersten Album [roviLink="MW"]The Barbra Streisand Album[/roviLink] wurde aus ihr eine der sich am besten verkaufenden Künstlerinnen der frühen 60er Jahre. ~ William Ruhlmann",
"author": "William Ruhlmann",
"language": "German"
}
]
}
}
XML Response Example
- Here's an XML response to Request Example 2, which asks for a biography of Barbra Streisand with a biographical overview in German. The response has been edited to reduce the length.
- Requested with http://api.rovicorp.com/data/v1.1/name/musicbio?apikey=apikey&sig=sig&
nameid=MN0000855531&language=german&format=xml.
<NameMusicBio xmlns="com.rovicorp.metadataservice" xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<status>ok</status>
<code>200</code>
<messages i:nil="true"/>
<build>1.5.1.9</build>
<parameters>
<apiKey>apikey</apiKey>
<id>MN0000855531</id>
<format>xml</format>
</parameters>
<serverName>tul1cssw1</serverName>
<startTime>2011-04-28T22:04:38.2014820Z</startTime>
<endTime>2011-04-28T22:04:38.2171075Z</endTime>
<duration>15</duration>
<parentIds>
<amgClassicalId>Q 55199</amgClassicalId>
<amgMovieId>P112652</amgMovieId>
<amgPopId>P 3153</amgPopId>
<cosmoId>101344</cosmoId>
<nameId>MN0000855531</nameId>
</parentIds>
<musicBio>
<text>b. Barbra Joan Streisand, 24 April 1942, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. A celebrated actress, singer, and film producer, from childhood Streisand was eager to make a career in showbusiness, happily singing and ‘playacting’ for neighbours in Brooklyn, where she was born and raised. At the age of 15, she had a trial run with a theatrical company in upstate New York and by 1959, the year she graduated, was convinced that she could make a success of her chosen career. She still sang for fun, but was set on being a stage actress. The lack of opportunities in straight plays drove her to try singing instead and she entered and won a talent contest at The Lion, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. The prize was a booking at the club and this was followed by more club work, including an engagement at the Bon Soir which was later extended and established her as a fast-rising new singer. Appearances in off-Broadway revues followed, in which she acted and sang. As a performer, Streisand is one of the greatest showbusiness phenomenon of recent times. As of 2005, she was ranked as the top-selling female recording artist of all-time in the USA. Her wide vocal range and a voice which unusually blends sweetness with strength, helps make her one of the outstanding dramatic singers in popular music. Her insistence upon perfection has meant that her many records are exemplars for other singers.</text>
<author/>
<musicBioOverview>
<NameMusicBioOverview>
<overview>[roviLink="MN"]Barbra Streisand[/roviLink]s Rang als eine der erfolgreichsten Sängerinnen ihrer Generation verwundert umso mehr, als ihre Beliebtheit direkt unter der Nase eines dominierenden Musiktrends anwuchs-- [roviLink="MA"]Rock & Roll[/roviLink] --, dem sie nicht folgte und weil sie, trotz ihrer unglaublichen Stimme, die jeden, der sie hört in ihren Bann schlägt, Musik immer nur als Trittbrett für ihre anderen Karrieren benutzt hat, sei es als Bühnen- und Filmschauspielerin oder als Regisseurin. Nach ihrem ersten Album [roviLink="MW"]The Barbra Streisand Album[/roviLink] wurde aus ihr eine der sich am besten verkaufenden Künstlerinnen der frühen 60er Jahre. ~ William Ruhlmann</overview>
<author>William Ruhlmann</author>
<language>German</language>
</NameMusicBioOverview>
</musicBioOverview>
</musicBio>
</NameMusicBio>
<status>ok</status>
<code>200</code>
<messages i:nil="true"/>
<build>1.5.1.9</build>
<parameters>
<apiKey>apikey</apiKey>
<id>MN0000855531</id>
<format>xml</format>
</parameters>
<serverName>tul1cssw1</serverName>
<startTime>2011-04-28T22:04:38.2014820Z</startTime>
<endTime>2011-04-28T22:04:38.2171075Z</endTime>
<duration>15</duration>
<parentIds>
<amgClassicalId>Q 55199</amgClassicalId>
<amgMovieId>P112652</amgMovieId>
<amgPopId>P 3153</amgPopId>
<cosmoId>101344</cosmoId>
<nameId>MN0000855531</nameId>
</parentIds>
<musicBio>
<text>b. Barbra Joan Streisand, 24 April 1942, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. A celebrated actress, singer, and film producer, from childhood Streisand was eager to make a career in showbusiness, happily singing and ‘playacting’ for neighbours in Brooklyn, where she was born and raised. At the age of 15, she had a trial run with a theatrical company in upstate New York and by 1959, the year she graduated, was convinced that she could make a success of her chosen career. She still sang for fun, but was set on being a stage actress. The lack of opportunities in straight plays drove her to try singing instead and she entered and won a talent contest at The Lion, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. The prize was a booking at the club and this was followed by more club work, including an engagement at the Bon Soir which was later extended and established her as a fast-rising new singer. Appearances in off-Broadway revues followed, in which she acted and sang. As a performer, Streisand is one of the greatest showbusiness phenomenon of recent times. As of 2005, she was ranked as the top-selling female recording artist of all-time in the USA. Her wide vocal range and a voice which unusually blends sweetness with strength, helps make her one of the outstanding dramatic singers in popular music. Her insistence upon perfection has meant that her many records are exemplars for other singers.</text>
<author/>
<musicBioOverview>
<NameMusicBioOverview>
<overview>[roviLink="MN"]Barbra Streisand[/roviLink]s Rang als eine der erfolgreichsten Sängerinnen ihrer Generation verwundert umso mehr, als ihre Beliebtheit direkt unter der Nase eines dominierenden Musiktrends anwuchs-- [roviLink="MA"]Rock & Roll[/roviLink] --, dem sie nicht folgte und weil sie, trotz ihrer unglaublichen Stimme, die jeden, der sie hört in ihren Bann schlägt, Musik immer nur als Trittbrett für ihre anderen Karrieren benutzt hat, sei es als Bühnen- und Filmschauspielerin oder als Regisseurin. Nach ihrem ersten Album [roviLink="MW"]The Barbra Streisand Album[/roviLink] wurde aus ihr eine der sich am besten verkaufenden Künstlerinnen der frühen 60er Jahre. ~ William Ruhlmann</overview>
<author>William Ruhlmann</author>
<language>German</language>
</NameMusicBioOverview>
</musicBioOverview>
</musicBio>
</NameMusicBio>