Shazam is an audio recognition service that captures a short sound snippet, creates a digital fingerprint, and matches it against a cloud‑based catalog of millions of tracks to return song metadata, synchronized lyrics, and a direct streaming link. The platform also provides real‑time chart data, local concert recommendations, and a ShazamKit SDK that enables third‑party apps to embed the same recognition engine.
Funding
$30M raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
Consumers often hear a song in public spaces, on radio, or in videos and lack a quick way to identify the track, view its lyrics, learn about the artist, or discover related concerts and chart rankings. This information gap reduces engagement with the music and limits opportunities for listeners to explore new releases.
Solution
Shazam delivers instant audio recognition through a mobile app that captures a short audio snippet, generates a digital fingerprint, and matches it against a cloud‑based music database. Within seconds the user receives the song title, artist name, synchronized lyrics, and a link to stream the full track via Apple Music. The platform also surfaces real‑time chart data (Global Top 200, Viral charts) and nearby concert listings, turning a fleeting listening moment into a deeper discovery experience. Integration with iOS Control Center, Android notifications, wearables, and a Chrome extension ensures identification is available across devices, while ShazamKit lets third‑party developers embed the same recognition engine into their own apps.
Target Audience
Primary users are smartphone and wearable owners who want to identify music on the go, as well as developers seeking to add audio‑based discovery features to their applications.
Features
- Audio fingerprinting engine that creates a unique spectral hash from a few seconds of ambient sound and matches it to a curated catalog of millions of tracks.
- Real‑time display of song metadata, including title, artist, album art, and time‑synced lyrics.
- Direct “Play on Apple Music” button that streams the full recording and adds it to the user’s library.
- Dynamic chart feeds (Global Top 200, Viral, Discovery) and localized concert recommendations based on the identified track.
- Cross‑platform availability: native iOS and Android apps, Apple Watch, Android Wear, Control Center widget, and Chrome browser extension.
- ShazamKit SDK for iOS, Android, and web developers to integrate audio recognition, custom audio catalogs, and trigger in‑app actions.
- Secure cloud infrastructure with encrypted data transmission and compliance with privacy standards.
- Offline identification cache for previously recognized songs and optional push notifications for new releases by identified artists.