> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.musixmatch.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Implementation guidelines

Before going on, we recommend to read the checklist throughout, and make sure everything is implemented.

Our API has been carefully thought out to let your creativity prevail over technology. There are literally thousands of applications that can be built using the lyrics API, but first you need to have an understanding of the basic principles in order to decide what calls to use.

It is important to distinguish between searching and matching:

* **Searching** is straightforward enough: make a call with the parameters that you are seeking and receive the response. See details in [track.search](/api-reference/lyrics-catalog/track-search)
* **Matching** is a different matter and is used when you already have your own music catalog and want to associate licensed lyrics with each track. The most effective match is possible using the [ISRC](https://isrc.ifpi.org/en/), if it’s not possible, we suggest to use the metadata (Artist and Title) ranking the most effective result by popularity. See details in [matcher.lyrics.get](/api-reference/lyrics-catalog/matcher-lyrics-get)

## Searching or browsing music

If you don’t have your own music catalog you’ll probably want to search our database to deliver results to your users.

Here are some typical functions to implement:

* Get most popular lyrics and artists with: [chart.tracks.get](/api-reference/lyrics-catalog/chart-tracks-get), [chart.artists.get](/api-reference/lyrics-catalog/chart-artists-get)
* Let users search directly for their favorite lyrics with: [track.search](/api-reference/lyrics-catalog/track-search), [artist.search](/api-reference/lyrics-catalog/artist-search)
* Simply get lyrics with: [track.lyrics.get](/api-reference/lyrics-catalog/track-lyrics-get)
* Get info about an album with: [album.get](/api-reference/lyrics-catalog/album-get)

## Matching your music catalog

If you have your own music service and browsing feature, you can focus on matching our lyrics to your catalog.\
We recommend using the ISRC ID to match the correct track, and falling back to the track title and artist name when the ISRC is not available. In some cases, due to contractual agreements, we also provide the client’s track identifier in our catalog. In such cases, the best practice is to prioritize that identifier when matching.

When matching time-synced lyrics to your tracks, keep in mind that there may be multiple versions of the lyrics, each associated with a specific duration. Choose the one that most closely matches your track’s duration.\
\
Reccomended API methods:

* Match your song against our database with: [matcher.track.get](/api-reference/lyrics-catalog/matcher-track-get)
* Then get the lyrics with: [track.lyrics.get](/api-reference/lyrics-catalog/track-lyrics-get)

## Displaying lyrics

* Display lyrics making sure to add the [lyrics views tracking](/lyrics-views-tracking) and the copyright info from the `lyrics_copyright` field received from [track.lyrics.get](/api-reference/lyrics-catalog/track-get)
* In case you’re showing time-synced lyrics use the [track.subtitle.get](/api-reference/lyrics-catalog/track-subtitle-get)
* Apply content restrictions based on [country restrictions](/content-restrictions) rules
* Add the "Lyrics powered by" image [provided by Musixmatch](https://about.musixmatch.com/brand-resources) and link to the lyrics page on Musixmatch website using the `backlink_url` field received from [track.lyrics.get](/api-reference/lyrics-catalog/track-lyrics-get)

## Tracking API calls

If you are accessing the Musixmatch Catalog via API, you can log in to your dashboard at [developer.musixmatch.com](https://developer.musixmatch.com/login) and track all the API calls you are currently using on your product.