About
The Shazam app has been around since Apple launched its App
Store back in 2008. However, the service had been available to the public since
six years prior. Known then as “2580”, the number in which users would call to
access the service.
Shazam has proven to be the “king of music identification” with
over one billion downloads and 20 million ‘Shazams’ occurring each day, as of
July 2016
Features
Shazam revolves around the feature of “tagging”, the ability
to identify songs that play within earshot of the user. This is accomplished by
a simple press of a big blue button which then takes a live audio recording and
matches it with a song found in the app’s database. This function requires a
data connection but if there is none present, the app will store your tag and
identify it once a connection has been established.
Once the app has successfully identified a song you are able to view information related to that song and artist including links to music videos, popular tracks from the artist and lyrics which can be followed in real-time. A dedicated iTunes button allows you to access the store and purchase the song Apart from viewing artist biographies and purchasing music, you can also share with others through social media and play the full songs on apps such as Spotify and Apple Music.
Once the app has successfully identified a song you are able to view information related to that song and artist including links to music videos, popular tracks from the artist and lyrics which can be followed in real-time. A dedicated iTunes button allows you to access the store and purchase the song Apart from viewing artist biographies and purchasing music, you can also share with others through social media and play the full songs on apps such as Spotify and Apple Music.
The “My Shazam” tab allows you to view all your tags, with the “Explore” and “Trending” pages highlighting the popular music around the world.
Shazam is a free service but additionally there is a premium
version called Shazam Encore, which gets rid of all advertising and boasts full
integration of Rdio, Spotify and Apple music allowing users to stream directly
from Shazam. This is a nice alternative to the free app, however, these minimal
improvements don’t justify the $10.99 price tag.
Download Links
Shazam is available for both Android and iPhone via the
Google Play Store and iTunes App Store, respectively.
Verdict
Shazam is the class leader in music discovery and it’s easy
to see why. Its simple interface allows users to identify songs within a space
of ten seconds and provides relevant information regarding the song and artist.
Although the app falls short when trying to recognised live music and songs
that are hummed or sung, it is still the easiest and most pleasant to use.
Reviewed by Ryan
★★★★☆
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