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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Music recognition service Shazam, which was one of the early App Store hits and has continued to see good success on mobile platforms, is now bringing its services to the desktop in the form of the first music, TV show, and ad recognition app for Mac.

Running as a menu bar item, Shazam for Mac quietly monitors audio around the user's Mac and provides not only pop-up notifications of the content being played but also easy access to supplemental content such as lyrics, additional tracks from the album, purchasing options such as the iTunes Store, music videos, social sharing options, and more.

shazam_mac.jpg
Once content has been identified by Shazam, a standard Notification Center pop-up appears onscreen, and an entry for the item is added to the running list of Shazam IDs in the menu bar app. Clicking in either location takes the user to a dedicated page on the web for the identified content.

MacRumors spoke with Shazam's Chief Product Officer Daniel Danker about the launch, and Danker highlighted the utility of Shazam for Mac in the context of the popularity of lyrics searches on the Internet. With Shazam's dedicated track pages on the web, Shazam for Mac seamlessly directs users to high-quality lyrics presented in a responsive layout appropriate for various screen sizes and without ads or other distractions.

shazam_content_page.jpg
In our testing of Shazam for Mac, the app generally did a solid job of picking up audio and quickly identifying the tracks being played. It is of course limited by the number of tracks available in Shazam's database, and on an eclectic mix of tracks Shazam was unable to identify some of the tracks. Identification was generally solid, however, and came fairly quickly after the track began playing.

Beyond music, Shazam also works with television channels in the U.S., and Shazam for Mac was able to identify a number of shows and movies airing on a nearby television. Clicking on the item's listing in Shazam offers quick access to content such as cast information, IMDB and Wikipedia listings, and more. With over 160 U.S. TV channels included in Shazam's database, content can even be identified from the commercials being played between segments. Even ads such as Apple's latest "Stickers" commercial for the MacBook Air can be identified by Shazam.

Shazam for Mac marks the next step in the service's evolution as the company seeks to integrate its platform into users' daily technology experience. Its always-on status builds upon the Auto Shazam functionality added to the iOS app late last year. Shazam has also entered into a partnership with Apple that will see Shazam's music identification services integrated with Siri, allowing users to quickly and easily ask Siri to identify the music playing around them.

As for the future of Shazam for Mac and the service in general, Danker noted the company is working to build seamless connections with streaming music services to aid listeners, and also enhancing the lyrics experiencing with syncing and other features.

Shazam for Mac [Direct Link] is a free app launching today in the Mac App Store.

Article Link: Shazam Brings Always-On Music and TV Recognition to Mac With Free Menu Bar App
 

Analog Kid

macrumors G3
Mar 4, 2003
8,785
11,167
Hmmm... A live mike with a network connection running 24/7 on my desk. What could go wrong?

This could have been really cool, but you just can't trust anyone anymore...
 

outback1313

macrumors newbie
Jul 14, 2014
20
0
It has been a long time since I've seen something with the "Mac Store" on the front page of MR. Everything is usually "App Store" :p
 

bushido

Suspended
Mar 26, 2008
8,070
2,755
Germany
isnt that bad for battery life

Is Shazam a front for the NSA?

probably, just like any other US service

"In February 2014 IT experts discovered that the Android version of Shazam surreptitiously sends private data to at least two advertising portals."
 

Lancer

macrumors 68020
Jul 22, 2002
2,217
147
Australia
Yes another way Apple can get your money!

That said I've used it on my iPhone for years and it appears to work, depending on back ground sounds.

Problem is it doesn't know where the music is coming from, picking up songs played via iTunes.
 

KernelG

macrumors member
Feb 8, 2008
50
87
SF Bay Area, CA
This app does nothing on my Mac Pro, except show that countdown from 4:00:00. I have to use a third party mic, of course (a Logitech web cam, which is set as default input and the level is good—Mavericks dictation works perfectly). There are no Shazam settings aside from Launch on Startup, and no other active display, so I have no idea what's going on with this app. :confused:
 

JelleVandeVelde

macrumors newbie
Jul 8, 2014
8
0
Just installed it on my MacBook and it works as good as the mobile app…

Though it's too bad you can't log in with your Shazam account so that your tags will be synced between devices. Also, it would be great if you could identify a song 'on demand' like in the mobile app, by clicking on a button.

PS: A setting to choose for a monochrome version of the logo would be great! Coloured menu item really annoy me because it doesn't feel all that 'native' designwise.
 

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JelleVandeVelde

macrumors newbie
Jul 8, 2014
8
0
This app does nothing on my Mac Pro, except show that countdown from 4:00:00. I have to use a third party mic, of course (a Logitech web cam, which is set as default input and the level is good—Mavericks dictation works perfectly). There are no Shazam settings aside from Launch on Startup, and no other active display, so I have no idea what's going on with this app. :confused:

Maybe you can try to check your privacy settings for your mic? A lot of mobile users do have the same problem, where their Shazam app doesn't have the access to the mic and can't to his job.
 

sunapple

macrumors 68030
Jul 16, 2013
2,715
5,005
The Netherlands
Runs great on my Mac Mini. My Mac doesn't have a microphone so Shazam is actually really useless, but is shows a countdown for four hours, which is great.
 

KernelG

macrumors member
Feb 8, 2008
50
87
SF Bay Area, CA
Maybe you can try to check your privacy settings for your mic? A lot of mobile users do have the same problem, where their Shazam app doesn't have the access to the mic and can't to his job.

Good idea, but no change. I'm assuming that you're talking about adding the app to System Prefs > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility. If not there, where?

Their Getting Started support doc says "You must ensure that your on-board microphone is enabled and set to an input volume high enough to detect external media." (emphasis mine)

Anyone else on a Mac Pro or Mac mini having any luck?
 
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