diff --git a/src/lib/services/atproto/musicbrainz.ts b/src/lib/services/atproto/musicbrainz.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9d9a40d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/services/atproto/musicbrainz.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+/**
+ * MusicBrainz API helpers for looking up missing metadata
+ */
+
+import { cache } from './cache';
+
+interface MusicBrainzRelease {
+	id: string;
+	score: number;
+	title: string;
+	'artist-credit'?: Array<{ name: string }>;
+}
+
+interface MusicBrainzSearchResponse {
+	releases: MusicBrainzRelease[];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Search MusicBrainz for a release by track name and artist
+ * Uses conservative matching to avoid false positives
+ */
+export async function searchMusicBrainzRelease(
+	trackName: string,
+	artistName: string,
+	releaseName?: string
+): Promise<string | null> {
+	const cacheKey = `mb:release:${trackName}:${artistName}:${releaseName || 'none'}`;
+	const cached = cache.get<string | null>(cacheKey);
+	if (cached !== null) {
+		console.debug('[MusicBrainz] Returning cached release ID:', cached);
+		return cached;
+	}
+
+	try {
+		// Build search query - prefer release name if available
+		const searchTerm = releaseName || trackName;
+		const query = `release:"${searchTerm}" AND artist:"${artistName}"`;
+		const url = `https://musicbrainz.org/ws/2/release/?query=${encodeURIComponent(query)}&fmt=json&limit=5`;
+
+		console.info('[MusicBrainz] Searching for:', { trackName, artistName, releaseName });
+
+		const response = await fetch(url, {
+			headers: {
+				'User-Agent': 'ewancroft.uk/1.0.0 (https://ewancroft.uk)',
+				'Accept': 'application/json'
+			}
+		});
+
+		if (!response.ok) {
+			console.warn('[MusicBrainz] Search failed:', response.status);
+			// Cache null result to avoid repeated failed lookups
+			cache.set(cacheKey, null);
+			return null;
+		}
+
+		const data: MusicBrainzSearchResponse = await response.json();
+
+		if (!data.releases || data.releases.length === 0) {
+			console.debug('[MusicBrainz] No releases found');
+			cache.set(cacheKey, null);
+			return null;
+		}
+
+		// Take the first result with a decent score (MusicBrainz uses 0-100 scale)
+		// We want a score of at least 80 to be reasonably confident
+		const bestMatch = data.releases[0];
+		if (bestMatch.score < 80) {
+			console.debug('[MusicBrainz] Best match score too low:', bestMatch.score);
+			cache.set(cacheKey, null);
+			return null;
+		}
+
+		console.info('[MusicBrainz] Found release:', {
+			id: bestMatch.id,
+			title: bestMatch.title,
+			artist: bestMatch['artist-credit']?.[0]?.name,
+			score: bestMatch.score
+		});
+
+		// Cache for 24 hours (longer than normal cache since MB IDs don't change)
+		cache.set(cacheKey, bestMatch.id);
+		return bestMatch.id;
+	} catch (error) {
+		console.error('[MusicBrainz] Search error:', error);
+		// Don't cache errors - allow retry on next fetch
+		return null;
+	}
+}
+
+/**
+ * Build MusicBrainz Cover Art Archive URL
+ */
+export function buildCoverArtUrl(releaseMbId: string, size: 250 | 500 | 1200 = 500): string {
+	return `https://coverartarchive.org/release/${releaseMbId}/front-${size}`;
+}