Gracenote: Metadata Solutions for Media & Entertainment

Empower audiences to find and enjoy their favorite content with the definitive collection of worldwide sports, music, TV, movie and on-demand data. Reimagine in-car entertainment with an automotive data platform that enables automakers to provide radio, streaming music, podcasts, sports, movies and TV in the car. Transform how music is organized and discovered, with factual and descriptive metadata for over 100 million music tracks globally. We do this by offering the largest database for music, sports, movies and TV shows, and creating best in class services and technologies, all on a highly scalable platform. Gracenote, a Nielsen company, is the world leader in entertainment data and services.

• Studio System helps entertainment industry professionals research and track industry trends, identify and connect with standout talent and produce captivating content that engages audiences.
• Formerly CDDB (“Compact Disc Data Base”), Gracenote maintains and licenses an Internet-accessible database containing information about the contents of audio compact discs and vinyl records.
• “The media industry is on the cusp of a major transformation driven by AI,” said Jared Grusd, CEO of Gracenote.
• Several software applications which were capable of playing CDs (e.g. Media Go and iTunes,) used Gracenote’s CDDB technology.
• Make personalized recommendations for listeners to power engaging music discovery.

Music is in You!

Winamp, once a major licensee, no longer has access to Gracenote; the legacy media player program lost access to Gracenote when SHOUTcast and Winamp were sold by AOL in 2014. Several software applications which were capable of playing CDs (e.g. Media Go and iTunes,) used Gracenote's CDDB technology. On September 3, 2014, Gracenote acquired Baseline, a Los Angeles–based provider of film and TV data and information. On July 9, 2014, Tribune Media Company purchased What's-ON, a provider of TV data and advanced search offerings covering India and the Middle East for $27 million. On June 12, 2014, Tribune Media Services merged with Gracenote to form one company under the Gracenote name.

Sports

Power modern music experiences across smart TVs and streaming platforms by delivering related audio content. NEW YORK – July 17, 2025 – Gracenote, the content data business unit of Nielsen, has announced the appointment of Ryan Moore to the new role of Chief Business Officer for Gracenote, effective July 2025. Accelerate your FAST channel go-to-market with Gracenote’s global distribution network and enriched program metadata to enhance discovery and drive greater audience engagement and ad monetization. Gracenote’s latest report highlights a significant opportunity for car manufacturers to provide consumers easy access to entertainment content across a range of services and types. AI is enabling us to deliver the entertainment metadata platform of the future for the benefit of our customers.

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Heighten the fan experience and engage audiences across websites, mobile apps, TV and streaming during major global sporting events. Give fans the power to identify music with millions of audio fingerprints that enable them to discover new artists and enjoy their favorite songs. Powering content identification and representation throughout the ecosystem Access Nielsen’s trusted data and make informed decisions that drive results. Discover the future of cross-media measurement with Nielsen ONE. Gracenote was acquired by Nielsen in 2017 and now has 1,800 employees working in more than 25 locations around the world including Los Angeles, Queensbury, Sao Paulo, Amsterdam, Munich, Mumbai, Sydney, Seoul and Tokyo.

Accelerate FAST channel go-to-market, enhance channel and content discoverability and unlock ad monetization opportunities. Use diversity insights across programming to inform inclusive content investments and achieve DE&I goals. This technology was later used to power the MP3 revolution with the launch of the Apple iPod in 2003. The technology was later launched with Ford Sync voice activated system galadrielgrace, galadrielgrace.com in 2007. Gracenote embedded its music recognition technologies in its first automotive hard drive.

Gracenote also operates a digital file identification service that uses audio fingerprinting technology to identify digital music files such as MP3s and deliver track-level metadata, album art, and links to complementary content and services. Gracenote is the content data business unit of Nielsen, providing entertainment metadata, content IDs and related offerings to the world’s leading creators, distributors and platforms. “As the leading entertainment data provider, Gracenote has a unique opportunity to help media companies reimagine how they connect audiences with the content they love and deliver cutting edge user experiences,” said Ryan Moore, Gracenote’s Chief Business Officer. Enhance contextual ad targeting and brand suitability, along with CTV reporting, by using industry-leading Gracenote video content metadata and IDs. Submit, verify and manage your content metadata relied upon by leading TV and video services worldwide, as well as track program airings across channels, streaming or regions. Use Gracenote metadata, IDs and distribution network for effective content distribution, ensuring that your content is easily discoverable on leading video platforms and services worldwide.

Nielsen’s Gracenote solutions deliver rich, structured data that powers search, personalization, and seamless viewer experiences across platforms. Our worldwide headquarters are in Emeryville, Calif. For more information, visit Whether you’re looking to accelerate content distribution or power next-gen personalized guides and user experiences, we can help you get the most from your content investment.

Acting Talent

This has been controversial, as the original CDDB database was created out of anonymous contributions, initially via the open source xmcd CD player program. New licenses for CDDB1 (the original version of CDDB) were no longer available, so programmers using Gracenote services were required to switch to CDDB2 (a new version incompatible with CDDB1). Then, in March 2001, only licensed applications were provided access to the Gracenote database.

Gracenote technology enables advanced content navigation and discovery capabilities helping individuals to easily connect to the TV shows, movies, music and sports they love while delivering powerful content analytics making complex business decisions simpler. Gracenote is the content solutions pillar of Nielsen providing entertainment metadata, content IDs and related offerings to the world’s leading creators, distributors and platforms. Gracenote Studio Solutions is anchored by Studio System, the entertainment industry’s go-to resource for data and business intelligence trusted by virtually every major Hollywood film studio, television network, talent agency and production company. It primarily focuses on music industry and offers data services such as artist and album information, cover art, and music recommendations to various media platforms.

Now that AI is incorporated into many other tools people use to search for information, usage … The way people search for information is changing, and that has the potential to help people navigate an increasingly fragmented TV landscape.