Have you ever heard music playing in the background of a loud restaurant or bar and found yourself wondering what song it is? Thanks to the
Shazam mobile application, this is no longer a problem. Shazam Entertainment Ltd. introduced the mobile application in order to utilize its music recognition technology. Shazam allows users to identify any song that is playing, even in a noisy setting.
Consumers simply have to hold up their cell phone towards the source of the music. The audio clip is then run through the Shazam database, which is made up of over 8 million songs, to find an exact match. Shazam provides information such as the song title, artist, album and record label information. Consumers can then tag the song on their phone in order to save the information if they would like to purchase it through iTunes at a later time. They may also share song tags with friends via Twitter or Facebook updates. Tags are another way for users to collect songs and create lists of their favorite music.
Additional Shazam features include music recommendations based on the users tagged songs. Once a song has been identified, Shazam also offers users a link to the song’s YouTube video, if available. Shazam constantly updates music charts of top rated songs to keep users informed about new and popular music.
Shazam is available through iPhone, BlackBerry and Android, in 22 countries around the world. The mobile application is free to download but new users are limited to five tags per month. If users want to upgrade to Shazam Encore they will have to pay $4.99 for the service. Shazam Encore is described as a premium application with faster performance, extra features and unlimited tagging.
Shazam is targeted toward a wide audience of anyone who enjoys music. People across a wide variety of demographics and psychographics use the mobile application to identify music. Shazam is a popular service because music is something almost everyone takes an interest in, despite age, gender, and lifestyle differences.
After browsing consumer reviews, I believe Shazam is effectively marketing itself to its audience. Consumers give the mobile application mostly positive reviews and high ratings overall. Shazam is free, easy to use and can correctly identify a song for the majority of the time. Some consumers remarked that songs from smaller, independent artists were sometimes unable to be recognized. However, this was a rare occurrence and most consumers still recommended Shazam to others. One
review even called Shazam, “a must have for music enthusiasts.” I believe Shazam will continue to attract consumers with its appealing features and easy to use technology. What’s not to like?
