Why Shazam Remains the King of Music Identification with 100 Billion Tracks Identified

Apple recently announced that Shazam, its popular music recognition tool, has identified over 100 billion songs since launching. What major milestone will Shazam achieve next?

Apple’s Shazam Hits Impressive 100 Billion Song Recognitions

Shazam, Apple’s renowned music recognition tool, has crossed an important milestone by identifying over 100 billion songs since its inception in 2002 (By 2010, Shazam had surpassed 100 million users). This staggering number not only reflects its popularity but also the deep desire of music enthusiasts to discover new songs.

A Journey of Musical Discovery

Initially, Shazam was a text message-based service in the UK. Users could identify a song by dialing a number and holding their phone close to the music source, receiving the song and artist’s name via SMS. It was also one of the first apps available on the iPhone App Store in 2008. This tool’s journey illustrates its evolution to meet the “ever-changing needs of music lovers”.

A Look at the Numbers

To give a sense of what these 100 billion recognitions represent, Apple shared some enlightening statistics. It amounts to 12 songs identified for every person on Earth. To reach this number, one would have to use Shazam every second for more than 3,000 years.

Integration into the Apple Ecosystem

Since its acquisition by Apple in 2018, Shazam has become deeply integrated into the brand’s software platforms, including iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. The music recognition feature is now embedded in Apple’s operating systems, further solidifying the company’s role as a key player in music discovery.

To celebrate this achievement, Shazam released a playlist of the 100 most identified songs. A wonderful way to reminisce about the many moments of discovery this tool has provided to music fans around the world.