Unchained Music Distribution passport
- Platform
- Shazam
- Site
- shazam.com
- Social
- @shazam
Shazam is a leading music discovery app that enables users to identify songs playing around them by capturing a brief audio sample. Founded in 2000 by Chris Barton, Philip Inghelbrecht, Dhiraj Mukherjee, and Avery Wang in London, Shazam revolutionized music discovery by leveraging audio fingerprinting technology. The app gained significant popularity and was acquired by Apple Inc. in September 2018 for $400 million. Since then, Shazam has been integrated into Apple's ecosystem, enhancing music discovery across various Apple devices and services.
Five questions, answered for this platform specifically.
Shazam indexes audio fingerprints delivered through approved distributors or partner platforms. Once your track is ingested, Shazam can recognize it instantly when users scan it in the app or when it plays in nearby environments like cafés, radios, or social videos.
Shazam relies on clear, high quality audio files to generate an accurate fingerprint. Clean masters with minimal distortion or noise ensure the platform can match the track quickly when listeners attempt to identify it.
When Shazam recognizes a track, it links the result to official listings on Apple Music and other streaming services. This allows users to save, stream, or purchase the song directly from the identification screen.
Yes. Artists can access Shazam trend data through Apple Music for Artists. This includes insights into where people are discovering the track, how many Shazams it receives, and whether it is gaining momentum in specific cities or regions.
Shazam is a major discovery tool that helps convert real-world plays, like in stores, taxis, or social videos, into measurable interest. High Shazam activity signals strong listener curiosity and can contribute to increased visibility on streaming platforms and editorial playlists.
Set the release up in the app and it goes to this platform with the rest of them, delivered to spec and checked by a person first.
Upload the release yourself in the app, on the plan that fits, and send it to every store you want in one go.
Start DIYFor multi-release plans and label rosters, scoped with the services team before anything starts.
Apply for Artist & Label Services