If Shazam still seems like a miraculous technology, imagine how it must have seemed to those who heard about it when the company was founded way back in 1999. Many will remember the early days of the service before the app revolution – hurriedly dialling ‘2580’ on your mobile phone and sending a lo-fi snippet of the song you were trying to identify down the phone line to their servers. Since then, it has become a multifarious, well-connected and sophisticated app that can identify music, radio content, TV programmes, films and advertising – with much more on the way.
Based on the same kind of audio fingerprinting – or waveform recognition – technology that YouTube’s Content ID system uses to block uploads of copyrighted material, it’s soon to incorporate image recognition and beacon connectivity too. “We’re rooted in music, but have moved beyond that to give users a seamless connection to the world around them” says Peter Szabo, SVP, head of music and US ad sales, “and it’s much bigger than identifying a song, ad or a TV show”. Clearly, they are a highly ambitious organisation – and one with a $1 billion valuation attached to them accordingly.
“It took us 10 years to reach 1 billion tags, 10 months to reach 2 billion and 3 months to go from 10 to 12 billion” Szabo tells us. “Now, people Shazam more than 20 million times a day.” With over 100 million active mobile users a month generating this huge volume of tags, it’s a great example of a new technology becoming part of everyday behaviour. Meanwhile their 35-million track library continues to become ever-more accurate. Recent years saw it partner with Juno Records to incorporate their huge catalogue of vinyl-only releases and bring on board SoundCloud uploads too, meaning that even unreleased re-edits can now be identified. Shazam also works with digital distributors to include upcoming releases – meaning that promos can be spotted too. Other recent improvements for users include the ability to automatically add all your Shazamed tracks to a dedicated Spotify playlist.
Speaking of which, what do they think of the argument that being able to instantly identify any track diminishes the magic of a DJ set? “I think we actually add a bit of magic ourselves when you can find out the name of the song out of thin air” says Szabo, “but the role of the club DJ is still a vital part of breaking new songs. We see it as a compliment to them when someone is Shazaming it.” While that sentiment might be valid, not all are going to agree that this loss of mystique and increased numbers of people dancing with their phones held aloft is a good thing. But if it generates more income for underground artists, can you really argue with it? Furthermore, as Richie Hawtin has said on many occasions – DJing is no longer about keeping secrets. It’s about how you present the music you play, how you put it together. Shazam will never diminish your enjoyment of a DJ set, nor the DJ’s experience of playing it.
The statistical and demographic information that Shazam gathers holds huge potential for the music industry. If they divulged information on age, location and musical tastes of listeners to songs, artists and labels, interested parties could use it to make highly informed marketing decisions – where to tour, for example. The good news is that just a few weeks ago they added publically-viewable total tag counts on every track in their database at www.shazam.com – which in itself can make for very interesting viewing for rightholders. “You can also search the Shazam Top 20 in 4,000 cities around the world in the Explore section of the app” Szabo points out. “Those are used by radio programmers to see if a song has reacted in their market after they play it.”
“In the UK it’s surprising how quickly certain dance records react” he says of how Shazam’s data can identify trends and influence label decisions. “To give one example, Sigma’s ‘Nobody To Love’ was originally released as a free download. It started reacting so well on Shazam that Sigma decided to release the song officially. A few months later it was an iTunes number one. Then there’s a new song by 99 Souls that’s still unsigned but has had a huge reaction from just a few Radio 1 plays. It’s almost certain to be a crossover hit when it’s eventually released.” Advertising syncs can also provide a huge platform on Shazam for emerging artists – with a wide range of music entering their charts off the back of placements.
Expect Shazam to play an increasingly influential role in the new music industry paradigm as time progresses. If they open up track listener demographics to rights holders, they will become more indispensable than ever. For a company so dedicated to evolution and enhancing the service they offer, it’s surely a no-brainer. And while they’ve still got a long way to go with accuracy – misidentified songs are still a frequent concern, as are differing results given by the mobile and desktop versions – they are still miles ahead of the rest of the game. Creating a new technology that becomes part of millions of people’s everyday behaviour is no mean feat.