# Similar Artists

Source: https://recoupable.dev/docs/api-reference/research/similar

Read unweighted related artists. The accepted `audience`, `genre`, `mood` and `musicality` values (high/medium/low) do not currently change the ranking. No similarity score is calculated. A positive integer `limit` slices the returned list; invalid or non-positive limits are ignored.

## GET /api/research/similar

Full OpenAPI specification: https://recoupable.dev/docs/spec/research.json

## Authentication

The supplied specification does not declare an OpenAPI security object for this operation. Its declared headers and parameters still apply. Consult the authentication guide and the full specification before calling it.

[Authentication guide](https://recoupable.dev/docs/authentication)

## Operation and referenced schemas

```json
{
  "openapi": "3.1.0",
  "info": {
    "title": "Recoup API - Research",
    "description": "API documentation for the Recoup platform - an AI agent platform for the music industry",
    "license": {
      "name": "MIT"
    },
    "version": "1.0.0"
  },
  "servers": [
    {
      "url": "https://api.recoupable.dev"
    }
  ],
  "paths": {
    "/api/research/similar": {
      "get": {
        "description": "Read unweighted related artists. The accepted `audience`, `genre`, `mood` and `musicality` values (high/medium/low) do not currently change the ranking. No similarity score is calculated. A positive integer `limit` slices the returned list; invalid or non-positive limits are ignored.\n\nUse your Recoup API key (`x-api-key`) or supported bearer credential. Successful artist and track research reads cost $0.05 (50,000 micro-dollar credits). Recoup manages the data connections. Coverage and rate limits vary; see [Research availability](/docs/research-availability).",
        "parameters": [
          {
            "name": "artist",
            "in": "query",
            "required": false,
            "description": "Artist name; Recoup resolves the first provider search match. Required unless id is supplied. Recoup artist UUID resolution is not implemented here.",
            "schema": {
              "type": "string"
            }
          },
          {
            "name": "audience",
            "in": "query",
            "required": false,
            "description": "Audience overlap weight.",
            "schema": {
              "type": "string",
              "enum": [
                "high",
                "medium",
                "low"
              ],
              "default": "medium"
            }
          },
          {
            "name": "genre",
            "in": "query",
            "required": false,
            "description": "Genre similarity weight.",
            "schema": {
              "type": "string",
              "enum": [
                "high",
                "medium",
                "low"
              ],
              "default": "medium"
            }
          },
          {
            "name": "mood",
            "in": "query",
            "required": false,
            "description": "Mood similarity weight.",
            "schema": {
              "type": "string",
              "enum": [
                "high",
                "medium",
                "low"
              ],
              "default": "medium"
            }
          },
          {
            "name": "musicality",
            "in": "query",
            "required": false,
            "description": "Musicality similarity weight.",
            "schema": {
              "type": "string",
              "enum": [
                "high",
                "medium",
                "low"
              ],
              "default": "medium"
            }
          },
          {
            "name": "limit",
            "in": "query",
            "required": false,
            "schema": {
              "type": "string"
            },
            "description": "Optional raw string; no Recoup default. For similar artists, only a positive integer limits the returned list; for playlists it passes through to the provider."
          },
          {
            "name": "id",
            "in": "query",
            "required": false,
            "description": "Research artist ID returned by search or lookup; treat it as an opaque string. Required unless artist is supplied; takes precedence when both are provided. This is not a Recoup artist/account ID.",
            "schema": {
              "type": "string",
              "pattern": "^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._:-]*$",
              "example": "artist_123"
            }
          }
        ],
        "responses": {
          "200": {
            "description": "Unweighted related artists with provider fields; no overlap scores are computed.",
            "content": {
              "application/json": {
                "schema": {
                  "$ref": "#/components/schemas/ResearchSimilarResponse"
                }
              }
            }
          },
          "400": {
            "description": "Validation error",
            "content": {
              "application/json": {
                "schema": {
                  "$ref": "#/components/schemas/ResearchErrorResponse"
                }
              }
            }
          },
          "401": {
            "description": "Authentication failed — invalid or missing API key",
            "content": {
              "application/json": {
                "schema": {
                  "$ref": "#/components/schemas/ResearchErrorResponse"
                }
              }
            }
          },
          "402": {
            "description": "Insufficient research credits. The response includes a static billingUrl; no checkout session is created.",
            "content": {
              "application/json": {
                "schema": {
                  "$ref": "#/components/schemas/ResearchInsufficientCreditsResponse"
                }
              }
            }
          },
          "403": {
            "description": "Credential, account or provider permission denied.",
            "content": {
              "application/json": {
                "schema": {
                  "$ref": "#/components/schemas/ResearchErrorResponse"
                }
              }
            }
          },
          "404": {
            "description": "Artist/track resolution or requested provider data was not found. A failed name search may be reported as 404; retry with an exact provider ID when known.",
            "content": {
              "application/json": {
                "schema": {
                  "$ref": "#/components/schemas/ResearchErrorResponse"
                }
              }
            }
          },
          "429": {
            "description": "Provider rate or quota limit. The adapter returns an error status but does not forward provider Retry-After headers. Avoid an unbounded retry loop.",
            "content": {
              "application/json": {
                "schema": {
                  "$ref": "#/components/schemas/ResearchErrorResponse"
                }
              }
            }
          },
          "500": {
            "description": "Missing provider configuration, transport failure or internal error.",
            "content": {
              "application/json": {
                "schema": {
                  "$ref": "#/components/schemas/ResearchErrorResponse"
                }
              }
            }
          },
          "501": {
            "$ref": "#/components/responses/ResearchDataSourceUnsupported"
          },
          "502": {
            "description": "Upstream provider failed.",
            "content": {
              "application/json": {
                "schema": {
                  "$ref": "#/components/schemas/ResearchErrorResponse"
                }
              }
            }
          },
          "504": {
            "description": "the configured research data connection request timed out.",
            "content": {
              "application/json": {
                "schema": {
                  "$ref": "#/components/schemas/ResearchErrorResponse"
                }
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "components": {
    "schemas": {
      "ResearchSimilarResponse": {
        "type": "object",
        "description": "Similar artists. Similarity is unweighted (no score/ranking fields).",
        "properties": {
          "status": {
            "type": "string",
            "example": "success"
          },
          "artists": {
            "type": "array",
            "items": {
              "$ref": "#/components/schemas/ResearchArtistRef"
            }
          },
          "total": {
            "type": "integer",
            "description": "Only present if the adapter receives a provider total; not guaranteed."
          }
        }
      },
      "ResearchErrorResponse": {
        "type": "object",
        "required": [
          "status",
          "error"
        ],
        "description": "Error response returned by all research endpoints for validation failures (400) and authentication errors (401).",
        "properties": {
          "status": {
            "type": "string",
            "enum": [
              "error"
            ],
            "example": "error"
          },
          "error": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Human-readable error message describing what went wrong.",
            "example": "Missing required parameter: artist"
          }
        }
      },
      "ResearchInsufficientCreditsResponse": {
        "type": "object",
        "description": "Returned (402) when the account lacks research credits. Nothing is charged and no Stripe object is created. Credits must be bought explicitly via [`POST /api/credits/sessions`](/docs/api-reference/credits/sessions-create).",
        "properties": {
          "error": {
            "type": "string",
            "enum": [
              "insufficient_credits"
            ]
          },
          "remaining_credits": {
            "type": "integer",
            "example": 0
          },
          "required_credits": {
            "type": "integer",
            "example": 50000
          },
          "billingUrl": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Static link to the Recoup app, where a human can save a card and buy credits. It is a constant, not a freshly minted Stripe Checkout Session, so a credit-gated endpoint that keeps returning 402 creates nothing. To buy credits programmatically, call [`POST /api/credits/sessions`](/docs/api-reference/credits/sessions-create).",
            "example": "https://app.recoupable.dev"
          }
        },
        "required": [
          "error",
          "remaining_credits",
          "required_credits",
          "billingUrl"
        ]
      },
      "ResearchArtistRef": {
        "type": "object",
        "description": "Provider-neutral artist reference.",
        "properties": {
          "id": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Provider-neutral artist ID.",
            "example": "wjcgfd9i"
          },
          "name": {
            "type": "string",
            "example": "Drake"
          },
          "avatar": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Artist image URL.",
            "nullable": true
          },
          "site_url": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Artist page URL.",
            "nullable": true
          }
        },
        "additionalProperties": true
      }
    },
    "responses": {
      "ResearchDataSourceUnsupported": {
        "description": "The configured research data source does not support this endpoint or data shape.",
        "content": {
          "application/json": {
            "schema": {
              "$ref": "#/components/schemas/ResearchErrorResponse"
            },
            "example": {
              "status": "error",
              "error": "Request failed with status 501"
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```