Shazam is celebrating: nothing more and nothing less than its 20th anniversary, recently surpassing more than 70 billion song recognitions and more than 225 million monthly users worldwide. Don’t the dates add up because in 2002 there were no smartphones? You are right.
This is how Shazam worked in 2002, as an SMS service (Image: Ketharaman Swaminathan)
The popular recognition software used a very clever system in its early days: the user, 20 years ago, called the number “2580” and keep the phone off the hook as the song played, the audio was sent to the platform. Then the user received an SMS message with the title of the song and the name of the artist.
That’s how it worked until July 2008, when Shazam launched in Apple’s brand new App Store, being one of most curious applications from the App Store: surely if you used it at that time, you will remember the disbelief of some in the face of this “magical” recognition. In 2015, the version for Apple Watch appeared, and in September 2018 the company was acquired by Apple itself, which integrates it into its ecosystem.
Shazam as the pulse of musical trends
To celebrate this anniversary, Shazam created Apple Music a commemorative music list, composed of the hits of each year, for 20 years. You’ll find hits as varied as “Hey, Soul Sister” by Train or “Cheap Thrills” by Sia.
Shazam has not only helped millions of users find the song they’re looking for, it’s also helpful in tapping into current music trends. “Having people around the world take the time to pick up their phones and Shazam my songs is a huge honor for me as an artist.”said masked wolf. “You know you have something special if you see Shazam’s stats move”. In 2021, he managed to have the most shazameada on a global scale with “Astronaut in the Ocean”.
Shazam isn’t just about song discovery, it’s also become a pulse of music trends
It also serves local artists reaching a more international audience. Last year, Nigerian artist CKay managed to become the longest running song at number 1 in the world with “Love Nwantiti”. [Remix]and became the second song to top 1 million Shazams in a week.
Shazam continues to evolve as a platform bring music and fans closer together, with new tools like the concert discovery function – with information and tickets on sale for nearby shows – simply by tagging a song. Oh! And remember that you can also use Shazam directly from your Mac.
Image | Photo of Abigail Lynn
