A method and system for accessing media metadata from metadata stored in different native formats is disclosed. A repository contains a plurality of containers for storing media metadata, wherein a first container in the repository stores metadata in the first native format, and a second container in the repository stores metadata in the second native format. A set of routines is used to access all media metadata stored in the repository without regard to the native format in which the media metadata is stored. Each routine in the set of routines identifies a metadata item stored in a container through information passed in a set of parameters. The set of parameters comprises a reference to the repository, an identifier of a container in the repository, an identifier of a structure for a key for the identified native format, and a key.