An approach is provided for mapping content, such as audio files, to associated metadata about the content. The approach includes initiating a search for local metadata associated with particular content. It is determined whether the local metadata is insufficient. A request for metadata associated with the particular content is generated, if the local metadata is insufficient. The request is sent to a metadata service to obtain result data including metadata for the particular content. A search of the result data from the metadata service is initiated based on a description of the particular content to obtain most relevant metadata of the result data.