Apple to partner with Shazam for song recognition in iOS 8, report says

Posted:
in iPhone edited April 2014
A report on Wednesday claims Apple is looking to incorporate a song identification feature into its upcoming iOS 8 operating system, possibly as part of Siri, and is working with Shazam to roll out the capability.

radio


According to people familiar with Apple's plans, the next-generation iOS 8 will feature song identification capabilities that gather sound from an iPhone or iPad's microphone, sends it up to the cloud for processing and returns results to users, reports Bloomberg.

The company is said to be working in partnership with Shazam, which has for years marketed its own song identification app and technology in the App Store. Shazam's system works in much the same way as solution described by sources, suggesting Apple may simply pull data into a first-party app as it does with Weather and Stocks.

Specifically, sources say Siri might get song ID support with users asking the virtual assistant, "What song is playing?" From there, iOS can use the data in any number of ways, including opening Apple's own iTunes Radio or the Music app.

The addition of song identification would be a boon for iTunes Radio's digital track discovery, which in turn drives sales from the iTunes music store.

Shazam, which in March 2013 was estimated to be operating on 20 percent of iPhones, now boasts some 90 million users. Apple's iOS user base has been the source of major revenue in directing users to purchase music tracks, many from iTunes.

Apple is expected to preview iOS 8 at the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference slated to begin on June 2. As always, AppleInsider will be covering the event first hand.
«1345

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 86
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    I know Siri isn't specifically mentioned (which I think is odd) but it would be nice to say, "What song is playing?" and have Siri listen for a few seconds and pop back with an answer. Not often but every now and then I fail to get the app launched and working before a song ends.


    PS: Shazam seems much, much faster than it used to be.
  • Reply 2 of 86
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    I know Siri isn't specifically mentioned (which I think is odd) but it would be nice to say, "What song is playing?" and have Siri listen for a few seconds and pop back with an answer. Not often but every now and then I fail to get the app launched and working before a song ends.


    PS: Shazam seems much, much faster than it used to be.
    Yes , I tried it the other day for the first time for ages and was impressed. A pairing with Siri makes a lot of sense.
  • Reply 3 of 86
    Nice. I'm not mad on Shazam, but I would like this partnership.
  • Reply 4 of 86
    Would Soundhound not be better as it does what Shazam does plus you can whistle or hum the song to find it too?
  • Reply 5 of 86
    gigatelgigatel Posts: 12member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by paxman View Post





    Yes , I tried it the other day for the first time for ages and was impressed. A pairing with Siri makes a lot of sense.

     

    Oh god are you kidding? 

     

    I love Apple stuff as much as the next guy but Siri pretty much sucks at everything it does. It's slow as shit...by the time Siri was up and ready to go the song would be over with. Shazam works darn near instantly at identifying songs and would undoubtedly be faster than Siri. You should try out the app some more before suggesting use of voice controls. 

  • Reply 6 of 86
    dickprinterdickprinter Posts: 1,060member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    A report on Wednesday claims Apple is looking to incorporate a song identification feature into its upcoming iOS 8 operating system, possibly as part of Siri, and is working with Shazam to roll out the capability.



    Specifically, sources say Siri might get song ID support with users asking the virtual assistant, "What song is playing?" From there, iOS can use the data in any number of ways, including opening Apple's own iTunes Radio or the Music app.

     



     


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    I know Siri isn't specifically mentioned (which I think is odd) but it would be nice to say, "What song is playing?" and have Siri listen for a few seconds and pop back with an answer. Not often but every now and then I fail to get the app launched and working before a song ends.





    PS: Shazam seems much, much faster than it used to be.

     

    It's not like you to miss details but, dude…she's mentioned more than once!

  • Reply 7 of 86
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    paxman wrote: »
    Yes , I tried it the other day for the first time for ages and was impressed.

    Me, too. I swear it took less than 3 seconds before it had a match.
  • Reply 8 of 86
    Would Soundhound not be better as it does what Shazam does plus you can whistle or hum the song to find it too?

    Whatever Apple goes for will be the better. End of discussion.
  • Reply 9 of 86
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    It'<span style="line-height:1.4em;">s not like you to miss details but, dude</span>
    …she's mentioned more than once!

    This is one of those articles where they are adding to it after they posted it. I even did page search for Siri before I submitted my post and it came up empty.
  • Reply 10 of 86
    droidftwdroidftw Posts: 1,009member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    I know Siri isn't specifically mentioned (which I think is odd) but it would be nice to say, "What song is playing?" and have Siri listen for a few seconds and pop back with an answer. Not often but every now and then I fail to get the app launched and working before a song ends.





    PS: Shazam seems much, much faster than it used to be.

     

    I would imagine if they're baking it into iOS that it'll be as a part of Siri.  Song identification has been a feature in Google Now for awhile.  It just makes sense to do it that way.

  • Reply 11 of 86
    Question for iTunes Radio listeners: does it store the history of what you're listening to?
  • Reply 12 of 86
    droidftwdroidftw Posts: 1,009member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    This is one of those articles where they are adding to it after they posted it. I even did page search for Siri before I submitted my post and it came up empty.

     

    It sounds like you may be one of AI's sources now!  :D

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    ... it would be nice to say, "What song is playing?" and have Siri listen for a few seconds and pop back with an answer.

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    Specifically, sources say Siri might get song ID support with users asking the virtual assistant, "What song is playing?" From there...

  • Reply 13 of 86
    dickprinterdickprinter Posts: 1,060member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    This is one of those articles where they are adding to it after they posted it. I even did page search for Siri before I submitted my post and it came up empty.

    Doesn't AI usually use the (u) after the title if/when they update? They're trying to pull a fast one on ya!

  • Reply 14 of 86
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Doesn't AI usually use the (u) after the title if/when they update? They're trying to pull a fast one on ya!

    That or developing at the end to let you know they are still working on it.
  • Reply 15 of 86
    pazuzupazuzu Posts: 1,728member

    Why doesn't Apple just buy Shazam or Soundhound? Seems like in the long picture it would benefit.

  • Reply 16 of 86
    jd mbajd mba Posts: 38member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    I know Siri isn't specifically mentioned (which I think is odd) but it would be nice to say, "What song is playing?" and have Siri listen for a few seconds and pop back with an answer. Not often but every now and then I fail to get the app launched and working before a song ends.


    PS: Shazam seems much, much faster than it used to be.

    Agreed.
  • Reply 17 of 86
    Sooo...other than making it complimentary, it's the same functionality that I have now in iOS 6 with the Shazam app, except without the performance penalty and invisible fonts of iOS 7? What am I missing out on??? ;)
  • Reply 18 of 86
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by gigatel View Post

     

     

    Oh god are you kidding? 

     

    I love Apple stuff as much as the next guy but Siri pretty much sucks at everything it does. It's slow as shit...by the time Siri was up and ready to go the song would be over with. Shazam works darn near instantly at identifying songs and would undoubtedly be faster than Siri. You should try out the app some more before suggesting use of voice controls. 


     

    Maybe you shouldn't speak with your mouth full, Siri works fine, as you'd know if you ever used it.

  • Reply 19 of 86
    oberpongooberpongo Posts: 182member
    I think this is a part of a much broader Siri enhancement. Apps will get an API to plug in to Siri and be voice enabled: e.g. Asking Siri to check the best price for an airline ticket will pull up the answer from eg kayak app or expedia.
  • Reply 20 of 86
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DroidFTW View Post

     

     

    I would imagine if they're baking it into iOS that it'll be as a part of Siri.  Song identification has been a feature in Google Now for awhile.  It just makes sense to do it that way.


     

    SonyEricsson was doing it before they even started making Android handsets.

Sign In or Register to comment.