Apple-owned music identification app Shazam has announced a milestone, surpassing 100 billion song recognitions since its launch.
Shazam notes that the number equates to approximately 12 songs identified for every person on the planet.
To put it into perspective, Shazam says reaching this number would require an individual to use Shazam to identify a song every second for 3,168 consecutive years.
“This monumental milestone not only reflects how much people enjoy using Shazam, but also their appetite for new music,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple‘s vice president of Apple Music and Beats.
“Music discovery is at the core of everything we do, and we keep innovating to make sure music lovers around the world can tap the Shazam button no matter where they hear music playing!”
“Music discovery is at the core of everything we do, and we keep innovating to make sure music lovers around the world can tap the Shazam button no matter where they hear music playing!”
Oliver Schusser, Apple
Shazam’s journey began in 2002 as an SMS service in the UK. Initially, music fans would dial 2580, hold up their phones to identify music, and receive song details via text. The platform’s popularity surged with the 2008 launch in the App Store and the introduction of its iOS app, which brought music recognition technology to millions of users.
By the summer of 2011, Shazam had already recognized over 1 billion songs. Following its acquisition by Apple in 2018, for $400 million, Shazam started offering users more ways to discover music.
Recent technological advancements further enhanced the Shazam experience, including Music Recognition on iOS and macOS, a Shazam widget on the watchOS Smart Stack, integration with the iPhone and Apple Watch Action button, Wear OS update for direct watch-based song identification, and a Quick Settings tile on Android devices.
Last year, Shazam launched a personalized in-app concert discovery hub called ‘Concerts’, which makes use of users’ Shazam history to deliver curated event recommendations. In June 2023, Shazam rolled out a new feature that lets users identify songs on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and other apps by turning on the ‘Auto Shazam’ feature.
In addition to its technical capabilities, Shazam says it is also a platform for capturing global music trends and moments. During the Paris Olympics, Kavinsky‘s Nightcall became the most identified song in a single minute.
The app’s recent milestones include Benson Boone‘s Beautiful Things, which in 2023 became the first track to hit 10 million recognitions, achieving this in just 178 days. For context, it would take over 4,800 years to reach 100 billion recognitions.
Shazam says it has connected with over 300 million monthly active users so far.
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