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Shazam, the popular apps that finds the ID of any song simply by listening to a sample of a song, has added some impressive new features! Shazam is a mobile app that allows the user to capture 20 seconds of any song, no matter if it’s intro, verse, or chorus, and will create a fingerprint for the recorded sample. The app will then look this hash tag up in it’s massive NoSQL database, and will use its powerful music recognition algorithm to tell you exactly which song you are listening to.

To identify a song that is currently playing, the song is simply recorded using a mobile device with the app installed, and then the audio sample recording is put through a complex fingerprinting process. As a result the app can start searching its web servers databases for matching hash tags. Since the sample could be taken from any point in the song, it cannot simply match the timestamp of the matched hash with the timestamp of the sample. However, with multiple matched hashes, the software can analyse the relative timing of the matches, and therefore increase the level of certainty in order for the app to find the perfect match.

If Shazam wasn’t already good enough, it now comes with a bunch of extra features. So what could Shazam do that’s possibly better than being able to identify any song from any point using any audio recording?  The answer is video! That’s right, Shazam now shows music videos when you scan your favourite songs!

 

Thanks to its partnership with music video platform Vadio you can now ID any song, and a related music video channel will pop up that you can play within the application itself. Speculation says that you should get something relevant to the song you Shazamed, but it could be random because Vadio assembles channels in different ways. Based on the nature of Vadios algorithms, it is expected that some results will be on point and others perhaps more mixed. The platform employs human editors to create curated streams, but it also algorithmically generates them based on the latest trends and even allows brands to create their own.

Since the new feature will be available everywhere the app is active, you can test it out yourself to see if it’s worth exploring or if it’s just another fad to ignore.
So how is Shazam potentially changing the industry? Well according to the company’s Chief Product Officer, Fabio Santini, they will continually look for new ways to expand the ways in which their users can discover music. He went on to say they that they

“want to give fans a great reason to spend more time with Shazam by giving them access to a rich and immersive music video experience”

Shazam will create new revenue opportunities for artists and, moreover, it will introduce powerful new ways of gaining exposure for various brands. In theory this will both help companies in the music business and enrich the users performance by discovering new music from their favourite and related artists.

The Music discovery app Shazam has reached a milestone by finally reaching profitability after 15 years and a billion-dollar valuation.

There are many other new features such as allowing users to look up songs within iMessage without leaving their conversation. Shazam has also introduced a “Lite” version of its app, designed specifically for Android users in emerging markets.

“Shazam is the quintessential destination for music discovery with hundreds of millions of global users”By incorporating high quality video, Shazam is making it possible for brands and artists to provide new ways for its global audience to discover music,”- Fabio Santini.

Well there you have, some impressive new features from the popular music identification and discovery app, which begs the questions – what new music will you discover on Shazam?