# Introduction

## Music Graph API
The collection of objects which define our music related data. Covering, but not limited to, artists, songs, tracks, products. 

### Generic Terms
These terms can be found throughout the Music Graph API.  An understanding of them is helpful to navigating.

| Term | Definition |
|------|------|
|Channel|Represents a YouTube Channel. Usually controlled by a GlobalParticipant|
|Chart|A platform controlled list of SoundRecordings ordered by popularity. Public data.|
|Catalog|Refers to an entity which is Private|
|Global|Describes a canonical interface for the meeting of Private and Public data.|
|Label|When used as a prefix, describes an entity which is Private. When used alone, refers to a Vendor or SubAccount|
|Participant|Someone who was involed in the creation of a sound recording e.g. an artist or producer|
|Product|A release. Contains Tracks. Think of it like a single or an album. Referenced by a UPC|
|Profile|The Orchard's way of enforcing access. All users have a ProfileType which describes what they can and cannot access within the graph|
|Private|Data which is distributed by The Orchard or created by or related to their clients. Private data have permissions restrictions on.|
|Public|Data which is not covered by permissions checks.|
|SoundRecording|Can be thought of as a master tape or recording of a song. Defined by an ISRC. Tracks are placements of SoundRecordings.|
|Track|A specific instance of a SoundRecording, for example, on an album.|
|Vendor*|Pronounced Vendor Star, a special Vendor meaning access to all. Used to give Orchard Employees access to all graph data|



## Music Graph DB
The data store which can be queried using the objects defined in the music graph api. 

| Term | Definition |
|------|------|
|Cypher| The language of the music graph query|
|Node|An instance of a Type|
|Relation|Describes how two Nodes are connected e.g. a Track is connected to a SoundRecording because a Track IS_A_PLACEMENT of a SoundRecording.
|Type|Used to describe a conceptual entity such as a SoundRecording or a Track|