private final Element getArtistListNode(String artistName) 
			throws GetHttpException, MusicbrainzUrlException, CreateDocException {
		
		String content= "";
		
		content= this.getHttp.getWebPageAsString(MusicbrainzUrl.getMbArtistUrl(artistName));
		if(content.equals(""))
			return null;
		this.artistDoc= CreateDoc.create(content);
		
		//if the count is zero, no artist was found.
		Element artistListNode= (Element) this.artistDoc.getElementsByTagName("artist-list").item(0);
		Integer count= Integer.valueOf(artistListNode.getAttributes().getNamedItem("count").getNodeValue());
		if(count.intValue() == 0)
			return null;
		else
			return artistListNode;
	}