// data sources
Searcherbox is built on public metadata and official APIs. This page says exactly where each piece comes from, because a search engine that will not tell you what it is built on is not worth trusting.
Release, label, artist, year, format and pressing data comes from the Discogs API. Circulation signals, meaning how many people own a release and how many want it, feed our obscurity score. Discogs is a community-maintained database; entries can be incomplete or wrong, and where our data looks odd that is usually why. Release pages link back to Discogs, and Discogs marks and data are used under their API terms.
Previews play through the official YouTube embedded player. We do not download, extract, cache or store audio or video from YouTube under any circumstances. Playback is subject to YouTube's terms and privacy policy, and YouTube may set cookies when a preview is played.
Acoustic characteristics are computed only from files you upload yourself, from legally available preview clips provided by rights-holder APIs, and from licensed reference material. Uploaded files are analysed and then deleted. We keep the resulting numbers, never the recording.
Artwork is served from the source that supplied the release metadata and remains the property of the respective rights holders. It is displayed for identification purposes only.
If a release is mis-credited, an artist appears who should not, or artwork is used in a way a rights holder objects to, write to ninjasearcherbox@gmail.com and we will fix or remove it. We do not require a formal notice to act on an obvious error.