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For those moments when you hear music and want to know what song you're hearing and who plays it, Shazam can help. The music recognition app has been helping people identify songs since 2002. In those days, people had to dial 2580 and hold their phone up to the music. Users were then sent a message with the song information.
In 2008, Shazam was one of the first apps to be available in Apple's App Store. In 2011, it added TV programs and ads to its database.
These days, all you need to do to use Shazam is open the app and tap the Shazam logo or use the service through Siri.
How Shazam worksAll it takes to identify a song or TV show on Shazam is a tap of the screen, and it can feel a little bit like magic when the app identifies what you're listening to in just a few seconds. You can also activate Siri on an Apple device and ask Shazam to identify the relevant audio source that's playing.
Shazam revealed what actually happens when you tap to Shazam: First, Shazam creates a digital fingerprint of the audio picked up from your device's microphone. Then, it matches the digital fingerprint to a database containing millions of music tracks and TV shows. Once it finds a match, Shazam displays the name of the song and artist or TV show, plus additional information like lyrics, sharing options, and more.
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The Shazam app is available to download for iOS and Android devices. It's also available for the Apple Watch, Android Wear, and Macs. Shazam has been built into Siri on Apple devices since 2018, after Apple acquired the company.
Shazam app featuresShazam does more than tell you the name of the TV show, song, or artist you're listening to.
The app shows you lyrics in real time so you can sing along, plus top songs by the same artist, other albums by the artist, music videos, suggestions for similar songs you may like, and track information.
Shazam offers sharing options for social media apps, email, and text messages, and options to open the song in Apple Music or Spotify, or buy it on iTunes. You can also add songs you find on Shazam to Apple Music or Spotify playlists.
The app automatically saves the songs you Shazam so that you can refer back to them later in the library tab.
If you use Shazam without an internet connection, the app will still create a digital fingerprint of the audio, which it will match to the Shazam database the next time your device has an internet connection.
Auto Shazam is a feature that allows Shazam to automatically identify the songs and TV shows playing around you, even when you're using other apps. To activate Auto Shazam, tap and hold the Shazam button. To turn it off, just tap the Shazam button.
Related coverage from Tech Reference:- How to connect Shazam to your Spotify account and listen to a playlist of songs that Shazam identifies for you
- How to use Shazam on Snapchat to identify and save any song playing nearby
- How to view your listening history on Spotify in 3 ways, and see a full record of the songs you've heard over time
- How to find playlists on Apple Music and add them to your library
- How to download music on your iPhone, so you can listen even without an internet connection
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See Also:
- How to connect Shazam to your Spotify account and listen to a playlist of songs that Shazam identifies for you
- How to upload local music to Spotify so you can play songs stored on your computer, even when offline
- How to delete your SoundCloud account, along with all of your uploaded music and playlists
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