Shazam

65 'Shazam' stories January 2012 - September 2014

‘Siri, what song is this?’ The iOS 8 GM doesn’t have a clue, but it’s coming back next week

Mike Beasley Sep 10 2014 - 2:56 pm PT

Remember when Apple announced during WWDC that Siri in iOS 8 would be getting several cool new features, including the ability to figure out what song is playing with a music recognition engine powered by Shazam? In the recent GM build of iOS 8, the feature has been removed completely. Apple notes that it should be back in time for the general public release of the OS, however.

In earlier betas, Siri would automatically start listening for music when invoked, and identify anything playing. This approach proved to be a bit counterproductive, as the software would often misinterpret air conditioners, wind, or a sneeze in the background as music and keep trying to identify it even after the user had finished issuing a command.

[tweet https://twitter.com/ChristopoulosZ/status/509817977538379776 align=’center’]

To resolve that, later betas removed the automatic listening mode and required the use of a command such as “what song is this?” However, in the GM build (which by definition is identical to the one that will ship to all users next week), the feature is totally non-functional. Asking “what song is playing” or similar will attempt to ID the song playing from the user’s library, which often results in a response of “You’re not listening to anything right now.”

[tweet https://twitter.com/Jamie367p/status/509819859589685248 align=’center’]

Why the feature was removed in the GM build is a bit of a mystery when it seemed to work perfectly fine when triggered by a voice command. Other new Siri features, like “Hey Siri” mode, are still available in this version. It’s possible this could just be due to some sort of bug that went undetected or a server-side issue that will be resolved before the official release.

Beats Music “Listen Now” feature starts rolling out to Shazam iOS app

Mark Gurman Aug 13 2014 - 10:42 am PT

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Users of the Shazam iOS application have begun noticing that Shazam is testing a new “Listen Now” feature with the Apple-owned Beats Music streaming service. Like it does with iTunes Radio, Spotify, and Rdio, this feature allows a user to tag a song with Shazam and then instantly play it in Beats Music. We tested the feature this morning and it works as advertised. You’ll need a Beats Music subscription or a 14-day free trial in order to make use of the feature. With Beats now under Apple’s wing and Shazam a key partner for Siri in iOS 8, it makes sense that the trio would integrate in a fashion such as the new Listen Now button in the Shazam app. You’ll need the latest Shazam update to make use of the feature.

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Shazam for Mac brings instant music recognition and more to your menu bar

Mike Beasley Jul 31 2014 - 12:08 am PT

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Shazam, the popular music identification app for iOS that was recently integrated into iOS 8’s updated version of Siri, has launched a new Mac application that resides in the menu bar listening for music to identify. Once it has detected a song, you’ll get a notification with the name, artist, and more of the music being played.

After a song is identified, you can also get instant access to the lyrics, music video, or iTunes Store link to buy it for yourself. You can also share tagged songs on various social networks.

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Shazam’s iOS app becomes a bit more useful with new Rdio integration

Mark Gurman Jul 14 2014 - 1:38 pm PT

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Shazam, the popular music identifier service that will be integrated into Siri this fall with iOS 8, has received an update today for iOS that brings a major new feature. Shazam has essentially turned its app into a streaming music service of sort by integrating deeply with Rdio. Now, if you tag a song using Shazam, you can listen to the complete song via Rdio right within the Shazam app. In our brief testing today, the functionality seems to work well. You do need the Rdio app installed and an Rdio account.

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iOS 7.1 code indicates Apple working on Siri for Apple TV

Benjamin Mayo Apr 23 2014 - 7:49 am PT

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Code found within the iOS 7.1 SDK suggests that Siri is headed to the Apple TV in future. Pierre Blazquez first found the reference on Friday. 9to5Mac has since confirmed that the code does exist in both iOS 7.1 and iOS 7.1.1’s files. The reference does not exist in 7.0.6.

The file is a supporting property-list resource for Assistant (Apple’s internal name for Siri), containing information about the feature. The UIDeviceFamily array declares what platforms are compatible with the feature.

As shown by Apple’s documentation, ‘1’ and ‘2’ represent the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad families. The ‘3’ represents the Apple TV family.

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Apple and Shazam planning to team up for music identification feature built into iOS

Mike Beasley Apr 16 2014 - 5:56 pm PT

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Apple and Shazam are teaming up to build a music identification feature natively into iOS, according to a Bloomberg report. The feature will allow users to find the name and artist of a song that’s playing, likely with the option to download the song from the iTunes Store or create an new iTunes Radio station.

Unlike some of Apple’s other music-releated features (such as Podcasts and iTunes U), the system will be built into the OS directly rather than require a separate download. So far there isn’t any confirmation of whether this feature will appear in iOS 8 or a later version, but with WWDC right around the corner, Apple will need to work quickly to secure the deal if the feature is to be announced with the next-gen software update.

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Shazam debuts Linkin Park song through Warner deal, Spotify buys competing service ‘The Echo Nest’

Jordan Kahn Mar 6 2014 - 7:40 am PT

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Shazam-linkin-park Back in February news broke that Warner Music Group made a deal with popular music recognition app Shazam that would see the label have access to Shazam’s proprietary music data gathered from its users as well as the formation of a new Shazam-branded label. Today, Shazam announced another perk of that deal with the app launching its first exclusive single, offering users the first chance to listen to the latest from Grammy Award-winning band Linkin Park before anyone else.

Shazam® today announced that multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning band Linkin Park and Warner Bros. Records, are launching the band’s new single “Guilty All The Same” (feat. Rakim), and are giving Shazamers around the world the first chance to hear the song. When users Shazam any song today, they’ll see a special link to hear the new Linkin Park track, then will be able to buy it from all major digital retailers after wider release Friday… Last night, Linkin Park fans who had previously Shazamed the band were treated to an exclusive opportunity to hear “Guilty All The Same” via a notification in the app’s News Feed, giving them advance access to the new single.

While the deal with Warner Music Group was originally thought to be mainly Warner’s attempt to get its hands on Shazam’s valuable user data— the data helps labels and services identify what’s popular and what music users are interested in purchasing— we see that the other end of the deal is exclusive content for Shazam. It’s unclear if the Linkin Park promotion, however, is part of the co-branded label deal that Shazam and Warner Music announced they would create as part of the original deal.

In other related music industry app news today, Spotify announced that it has acquired music recommendation service ‘The Echo Nest’, a tool currently used by many similar services such as Rdio, Vevo, and Xbox Music.
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Shazam iPhone app redesign incoming w/ new features

Jordan Kahn Feb 10 2014 - 8:07 am PT

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Update Feb. 25: The redesign we told you was incoming today started rolling out to iOS users globally. The updated app is available on the App Store now and the company notes that other new features are coming soon, including:

· Quick access to lyrics with a preview as soon as a track is matched, and with direct access to the music video and additional videos related to a song;

· Recommendations unique to Shazam;

· Lightning fast access to the most important information about any show broadcast on over 160 TV channels in the US: music in the show, cast and crew, and more;

· More engaging biographies and discographies, making it easy to go from discovering a great track to learning about and experiencing more from the band.

Shazam-Redesign

Shazam, the audio recognition app that lets users find currently playing songs and more, today announced that a redesign of its iPhone app is rolling out ahead of a larger change to the experience coming later this month. Today’s update replaces much of the light, baby blue color theme Shazam has long used and also introduces new features for accessing content and getting recommendations:

Over the coming weeks, Shazam’s more than 150 million iPhone users will see a new tag result experience as it is rolled out, with Android users getting it shortly thereafter. The new experience means Shazaming becomes the beginning of a journey, giving users effortless access to:

· A brand new look and feel for music and television results with easy access to previewing, buying, and sharing a track;

· Quick access to lyrics with a preview as soon as a track is matched;

· Direct access to the music video and additional videos related to a song; and,

· Recommendations unique to Shazam

The updated Shazam iPhone app will be available through both the Free and Encore versions.

Neat Shazam update creates automatic Rdio playlist of all Shazammed songs

Ben Lovejoy Dec 9 2013 - 5:30 am PT

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If you use Shazam to note music you’d like to listen to later, that just got easier with the latest version of the iOS app: you can set it so that all the tracks you Shazam are automatically added to a My Shazam Tracks in Rdio.

Shazam was last updated in September, with instant previews of tweeted tracks and faster song recognition on older iPhones. Press release below …
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Shazam iOS app updated with Twitter previews and faster recognition on older iPhones

Ben Lovejoy Sep 2 2013 - 6:26 am PT

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The latest version of music tagging and discovery app Shazam now offers instant previews when you tweet a track and offers faster song recognition on the iPhone 4 and 3GS.

○ Much faster recognition, especially on the iPhone 4 and 3GS.
○ Better recognition in difficult environments.
○ Now when you tweet, your followers can play previews right in Twitter through our Twitter Card.
○ Explore charts are more dynamic, showing you what’s hot in the last seven days.
○ New TV experiences (US only).

The update also mentions ‘new TV experiences,’ but Shazam hasn’t yet revealed any details. Shazam’s previous update added multi-track purchases. The free app is available for download on iTunes.

Shazam iOS apps updated w/ multi-track purchases, recommendations & more

Jordan Kahn Jul 29 2013 - 8:09 am PT

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Shazam-iOS-app-recommendations Music recognition and discovery app Shazam updated its iOS apps today with a couple interesting features, including new “multi-track purchases” allowing users to purchase multiple songs at once through iTunes.

Multi-track purchase: When you’ve tagged a bunch of songs, now it’s easy to go back and buy them in one go. Go to My Tags (or Favorites on iPad), tap “Select & Buy”, pick the songs you want, then tap “Buy” to purchase in iTunes.

Also included in the update its recommendations based on what others users have purchased, music previews for trending songs in the Pulse charts, and improved Voiceover support and sharing.

What’s New in Version 6.2.0

○ Multi-track purchase: When you’ve tagged a bunch of songs, now it’s easy to go back and buy them in one go. Go to My Tags (or Favorites on iPad), tap “Select & Buy”, pick the songs you want, then tap “Buy” to purchase in iTunes.

○ Recommendations: Discover more music based on similar tracks other Shazamers have bought. Shazam any track or find old ones in My Tags, then tap “”Recommendations””.

○ Music Previews: Added loads more previews for tracks you Shazam and trending music in the Pulse charts.

○ Accessibility: Improved Voiceover on iPhone.

○ Sharing is caring: Made it easier to tweet and share on Facebook, or to e-mail music and TV results.

Shazam for iPad introduces passive tagging, lyrics display, auto-play in Spotify & Rdio and more

Ben Lovejoy May 23 2013 - 5:15 am PT

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKOowwejuAQ

A new iPad version of Shazam available today introduces a whole raft of new functions, ranging from passive tagging without user input to the ability to recognise a song and then play it in Spotify or Rdio.

With passive tagging, the app continually listens to any music in the background and automatically tags it, ideal for use in bars where you may idly wonder what a track is but not want to go to the trouble of manually checking. The feature also works in the background, displaying a notification while the iPad is running other apps. Shazam’s claim of one-second tagging appears somewhat optimistic, however: a random sampling of tracks I tested took the usual several seconds.

LyricPlay displays lyrics in sync with the background music (Encore version only), while you can now immediately open the currently-playing track in either Rdio (all versions) or Spotify (Encore version only).

Shazam for iPad also introduces the kind of networked feature which seems to be expected in apps these days even if we’re not quite sure why. You can see which music and TV shows people are currently tagging in your country, city of neighborhood – as well as use a map to see tagging charts for anywhere else in the world.

NYTimes for iPad, Facebook Messenger, Aperture, Printer Pro for iPhone, FX Photo Studio, more

Jordan Kahn Nov 12 2012 - 12:14 pm PT

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NYTimes for iPad version 2.5.3: The New York Times has updated its iPad app today with optimizations for the new iPad’s smaller display:

– Optimized for the iPad Mini

Facebook Messenger version 2.02: On top of “other improvements and bug fixes,” Facebook has added the ability to give feedback about its iOS Messenger app from within settings:

What’s New in Version 2.0.2
– Visit your settings to give feedback about the app
– Other improvements and bug fixes

FX Photo Studio version 2.6:

– MacBook Pro Retina display support
– Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion compatibility
– New look
– Overall memory usage and performance improvements
– Color processing improvements
– Enhanced adjustment for all filters
– Bug fixes

Aperture 3.4.3:

-Addresses an issue that could cause a licensed copy of Aperture to prompt for a serial number with each launch

iDisplay Mini: A new iPhone and iPod touch only version of the app that allows you to use your iOS device as a second screen for Mac or PC is out today. Instead of getting the $5 universal app, you can get this iPhone only version for 99 cents.

Shazam version 2.8.0:
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Apps & updates: Netflix, Shazam, Bad Piggies, OmniFocus, more

Jordan Kahn Sep 17 2012 - 12:31 pm PT

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Bad Piggies: Rovio’s Bad Piggies doesn’t arrive on iOS and Mac until September 27th, but today we get our first look at the game in the first gameplay trailer above (via TechCrunch). The game takes place in the Angry Birds world, but appears to be quite a different experience. Check out the full trailer above.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LwZH0lg0XUM]

Netflix version 2.3: The Netflix iOS app for iPhone and iPad was updated today with a slightly updated UI and “Varied improvements on playback, AV sync, subtitle handling.” Netflix explained the new UI in a blog post and posted a video of the new experience (above):

At the top of the new browse screen on iPhone and iPod touch is a row that lets you continue watching shows or movies that you previously started watching right where you left off, a very handy feature. Lower down in the new experience are several personalized rows filled with movie and TV show recommendations…Tapping the browse menu gives you access to an extensive list of genre galleries that show even more titles organized into categories. Parents–like me–will really appreciate the children and family gallery with many titles organized by age… A simple tap on any title presents all of the information for that title and a double-tap on any title starts instant playback.

Shazam: Shazam announced on its website today that it is updating its iOS apps to allow users in the U.S. to use it as a “TV companion app” to tag TV shows and get access to cast information, sports scores, featured music and more.

Starting today, when people in the U.S. use the Shazam App while watching television, they have a fast and easy way to access:

Featured music – Shazam has leveraged its rich music history and its 20+ million track database to identify the music featured in whatever people are watching
Cast information – the app will list the cast featured in the program, guest stars, as well as other shows they’ve been in
Trivia – fans can learn more about their favorite program and even read about the occasional goofs with the trivia feature in the app
Celebrity buzz – gives fans all the latest gossip about the show and the stars in it
Social sharing – live Twitter feeds as well as commenting in the app makes it fun to talk with your friends about what you’re watching
More information – convenient links to show-related information at IMDB, Wikipedia, and the official site for the show.

Additionally, different types of programming will feature different results. For instance, sports events will include stats, scores and schedules instead of cast information.

OmniFocus version 1.6: Both the iPhone and iPad editions of the OmniFocus task management app received a huge update today that includes support for TextExpander touch, Reminders Capture for devices running Siri, and full support for iOS 6.

Apps & updates: Angry Birds Seasons, Amazon Instant Video, Dunkin’ Donuts, Shazam, more

Jordan Kahn Aug 16 2012 - 8:09 am PT

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As always, we will update our list of new apps and updates hitting the App Store and Mac App Store throughout the day:

Angry Birds Seasons version 2.5.0: New content for Rovio’s “Seasons” edition of Angry Birds rolled out today (including the HD version). The update includes 20 new schoolyard levels, bonus levels, a new pink bird, and new theme music for the playground levels.

Amazon Instant Video version 1.1: Amazon’s iPad app provides access to over 120,000 videos from the Amazon Instant Video store and thousands more Prime Instant Video titles, and it was updated today with a couple notable features. First—a new search function has been added to find specific titles from Prime. Also included in the update are an improved navigation bar and a number of bug fixes.

Shazam version 5.0.6: All of the versions of the song recognition app Shazam were updated today with an improved recognition rate and faster application startup time. The update also went to the $5.99 RED edition.

Dunkin’ Donuts version 1.0: Dunkin’ Donuts officially announced the release of its first mobile app today that allows customers to pay from the app using a virtual barcode-based DD card scanned by the cashier. Other features include a store locator, nutritional information for items on the menu, the ability to send virtual DD cards, and Facebook and Twitter integration.

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Apps & updates: Sparrow, Spotify, The New Yorker, Cloud, Bank of America, more

Jordan Kahn Aug 7 2012 - 9:10 am PT

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Other than the notable apps and updates below, developers of Shazam, the “9th most downloaded app of all time,” announced today its song recognition service has been used to identify over 5 billion songs. The five billionth tagged song on Shazam was “Blow Me One Last Kiss” by Pink. Head below for our full list of new apps and updates hitting the App Store today:

Sparrow for Mac version 1.6.3: Sparrow’s Mac App Store app was updated today with a number of performance enhancements and fixes. A full list of what’s new in version 1.6.3 is below:

– improved performance when loading huge conversations
– URL in subject can be clicked
– date and subject in headers can be selected
– improved avatar in message cells
– improved IMAP compatibility
– brazilian localization
– fixed progress indicator in message view
– fixed crash when loading some HTML messages
– fixed crash with POP accounts fixed

Spotify version 0.5.4: Spotify received a decent update today that brings the ability to show more stations for iPad users, fixes login issues for Facebook users, and adds stability improvements.

The New Yorker Magazine: Previously only available as an iPad app, The New Yorker is now bringing all of its magazine content to the iPhone with a new universal app available on the App Store now. To celebrate the release of the iPhone version, you will be able to get the Aug. 13 and Aug. 20 issues completely free (old issues are not accessible on the iPhone app).
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Shazam launches new ‘Shazam Player’ app that is a feature-packed iOS music player

Jake Smith Jan 11 2012 - 3:42 pm PT

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You are probably familiar with Shazam’s iOS app that lets you identify the name of the song being played, but today, Shazam launched a new iOS app called “Shazam Player.” Shazam Player is free and aims to be a more feature-packed alternative to the default iOS music player. Shazam Player offers options like streaming lyrics; tour dates from artists, YouTube videos, artist biographies, and even the ability to buy new tracks from iTunes within the app.

Besides the ability to play music, Shazam Player can also identify songs similar to the original Shazam app can. From there, you can launch iTunes from within the app to preview or purchase the song. You can share music with your Facebook and Twitter friends. The ability to view tour dates and bios from your favorite artists right within the app is very cool.

Shazam Player certainly is not as lightweight as Apple’s music player, but it does add a great list of features. If you are big on listening to music, this might be the perfect app for you. Try Shazam Player in the App Store!

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