Build Dashboards with Spotify Data in DBxtra

The CData ODBC driver for Spotify enables access to live data from Spotify under the ODBC standard, allowing you work with Spotify data in a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools and directly, using familiar SQL queries. This article shows how to connect to Spotify data as a generic ODBC Data Provider and create charts, reports, and dashboards based on Spotify data in DBxtra.

Connect to Spotify Data

1. If you have not already done so, provide values for the required connection properties in the data source name (DSN). You can configure the DSN using the built-in Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator. This is also the last step of the driver installation. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the Help documentation for a guide to using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure a DSN.
   
   

   Using OAuth Authentication

   Spotify uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication. You will need to create an application in the Spotify Developer Dashboard to obtain your client credentials.

   Setting Up Your Spotify Application

   1. Visit the Spotify Developer Dashboard.
   2. Log in with your Spotify account and click Create app.
   3. Provide an app name, description, and set a Redirect URI (e.g.,

      http://localhost:33333

      for desktop applications).
   4. Copy your Client ID and Client Secret from the app settings.

   Connection Properties

   After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

   • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
   • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to manage the process to obtain the OAuthAccessToken.
   • OAuthClientId: Set this to your Spotify application's Client ID.
   • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to your Spotify application's Client Secret.
   • Scope: Set this to the required OAuth scopes (space-separated). The default includes all read scopes needed for the tables in this profile.
   • CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI configured in your Spotify application (e.g., http://localhost:33333).

   Example Connection String

   Profile=C:\profiles\Spotify.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:33333;
   

   Available OAuth Scopes

   • user-read-private: Read access to user's subscription details and explicit content settings.
   • user-read-email: Read access to user's email address.
   • user-library-read: Read access to a user's saved tracks, albums, episodes, shows, and audiobooks.
   • playlist-read-private: Read access to user's private playlists.
   • playlist-read-collaborative: Read access to collaborative playlists the user follows.
   • user-follow-read: Read access to the list of artists the current user follows.
   • user-read-playback-state: Read access to a user's player state (device, current track, progress).
   • user-read-currently-playing: Read access to a user's currently playing content.
   • user-read-playback-history: Read access to a user's recently played tracks.
   • user-top-read: Read access to a user's top artists and tracks.

   When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

2. Open the DBxtra application and in the New menu click Project and name the Project.
3. Select ODBC Connection as the Data Connection Type.
4. Click the browse option () for the Data Source.
5. In the Data Link Properties window, select Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers on the Provider tab.
6. On the Connection tab, select the Data Source Name and the initial catalog to use (CData).
7. Name the Connection and select the appropriate User Groups.
8. Double-click the Connection from within the Project to connect to the data.

Create a Dashboard with Spotify Data

You are now ready to create a dashboard with Spotify data.

1. Right-click Report Objects under the Project and select New Report Object.
2. In the new Report Object, click the link to create the Query.
3. In the Select Data Connection window, select the newly created data connection.
4. On the Query tab, expand the connection objects and select the Tables, Views, and specific columns you wish to include in your dashboard. You can specify search requirements and even create complex queries which include JOINs and aggregations.
5. On the Dashboard tab, select the visualizations and features for your dashboard. Assign the data values from the query to the appropriate fields for the Dashboards items (Values, Series, etc.)

With a new Dashboard created, you are ready to begin analysis of Spotify data. Thanks to the ODBC Driver for Spotify, you can refresh the Dashboard and immediately see any changes made at the source. In the same way, you can create and view Reports with live, up-to-date Spotify data.