How Shazam works on Android
Before explaining to you how Shazam works I have to show you the procedure you need to download the app for free on your Android smartphone or tablet.
To do this, its operating system must be updated to version 4.4 or later, so if your device meets these requirements, start the Play Store, by tapping on its icon, the symbol of a colored triangle, present on the home screen, then use the text field located at the top, to search and locate the app in question, typing its name.
To install it, once its preview tab is displayed, click on the button Install and wait for the automatic download of the same. When finished, click on the button open or directly tap on the app icon, which will have been added to the home screen and / or drawer section of your device.
After downloading Shazam on your device I suggest you to register, in order to save the songs recognized in your account. This procedure is optional but, if you want to do it, click on the item My Shazams which is located at the top left of the main screen of the app, then tap on theicon dell'ingranaggio located at the top left and press the button Register / Login.
Once this is done, choose whether to register through your profile Facebook (press the button Facebook) or using a different email address (tap the button Email).
In the second case, also click on the confirmation link that is shown to you in the email received, to confirm your identity.
This way all the songs you will recognize through Shazam they will be synchronized online on all devices, as well as visible in the section My Shazams, screen which I will tell you about in detail shortly.
But now press onyour profile picture, in order to connect a music streaming platform, such as Apple Music o Spotify, and by doing so, being able to listen to the recognized song and listen to it within one of these latter apps.
To do this, click on the button Connect, corresponding to the item Apple Music (Android but also on iOS) or Spotify (Android, but also iOS) and log in with your account data, authorizing the connection between the platforms. Obviously, in order for this operation to take place correctly, you will need to have previously downloaded and installed at least one of these services.
Furthermore, in the case of Apple Music, since it is a paid platform, you must also have already subscribed to the subscription (prices starting from € 9,99 / month), in order to play the songs recognized by Shazam, as I will explain later.
To play the tracks recognized with Spotify, on the other hand, the subscription is optional (prices starting from € 9,99 / month), as it is needed to be able to listen to them immediately; otherwise the reproduction takes place in random mode and you must therefore wait for these to be transmitted.
For more information about it, I suggest you read my guide dedicated to Apple Music and the one in which I tell you about the functioning of Spotify.
Now let's talk in detail about the operation of Shazam, which, as I explained to you, is an app that is used to recognize the title and the author of a song played nearby, then, to do so, start the app and go to its main screen (it is blue and presents the application logo to the center).
Furthermore, if you use the Google assistant of Android (in this guide I have explained to you how to install it), you can start the app of Shazam through the latter. To do this, click on the icon Assistant located on the home screen and / or in the drawer screen of your device, then tap onmicrophone icon and say the sentence Start Shazam.
The operation of this service is quite simple: press the button with the Shazam logo in the center (or hold to activate l’Auto Shazam, through which the app will remain in the background and will automatically scan all the songs played, without having to press and hold) and, if requested, consent to the warnings that are shown to you relating to the app permissions regarding access to the microphone (operation only needed at first start).
Usually Shazam, it takes a few seconds to recognize a song (make sure the volume is not low because it is harder to recognize music playing in the distance and, above all, it doesn't work if you hum a song). You can use Shazam in the same way even without an Internet connection, but the song name will only be shown when you go back online.
Upon recognition of the song you will be shown its card indicating title e author. Through this, you can start playing a musical excerpt by pressing onplay icon.
Also through the song card you can read the lyrics of the song or see the video clip on YouTube, if present. You can also see the artist's profile, to listen to other songs of his or find related songs. To do this, swipe to the right on the song card until you find the voices Texts, Video, Artist e Related.
Do you want to hear the whole song, and not just an excerpt? Press on the button Spotify or the one with the logo of Apple Music. As anticipated, with Spotify, to be able to listen to the song in question immediately you must have already subscribed to the service.
If you are using Spotify instead, for free, press the button Shuffle Playback, located within the latter service and wait for the song to be played within its album. To listen to a song on Apple Musicinstead, it is necessary to subscribe to the service.
To buy a song on Apple Music, invece, award your pulse Buy Now, in correspondence of its card. If you want to add the song to a custom playlist of Spotify, award-winning Add and select the one you want to add it to.
If you do not see these options related to playback on a streaming app or to purchase, press the icon (...) and tap on one of the items present: Open with Spotify, Listen on Apple Music, Add to Spotify, Connetti a Apple Music e Open with Google Play Music.
If you want to find out which are the most played songs via Shazam refer to section Discover, in which you are shown some recommended songs and also the charts of the most identified and listened to songs.
In the latter press the symbol of magnifying glass to search for your favorite artists or songs and, once found, you can add them to yours Shazamby pressing the icon (...) and tapping on the item Add to my Shazams In the menu that comes mostrato.
At any time, you can see the section My Shazams, which shows the complete list of all songs recognized through this app. To do this, do two swipes to the left from the section Discover Shazam or just one, if you are on the app home screen. To explore the complete list of all added songs, tap on the item See more which you can see next to the wording Chronology.
How Shazam Photo works
Another Shazam feature is Shazam Photo, a tool used to obtain more information on advertising products or services whose promotion campaigns have been created in collaboration with Shazam.
To use it, launch the Shazam through its icon on your Android smartphone and tap on the symbol of camera. This will open the camera of your device inside the Shazam app and, through the latter, point to scan the QR code with Shazam logo inside present on a particular product or service.
Alternative method for downloading
In case you fail to download Shazam via the Play Store you can download its installation package through third-party websites, such as APK Mirror. In this regard, in the following lines I will explain in detail how to proceed.
Before downloading the Shazam installation file you must have enabled on your smartphone or tablet the ability to install apps from unknown origins, that is, from sources other than the Play Store of Google.
To do this, go to the section Settings of your device through a tap on theicon dell'ingranaggio located on the home screen, go to the menu Safety and move the lever up ON, corresponding to the item Unknown origin, confirming this operation, if requested.
On an Android smartphone or tablet with a newer version of the operating system, go to the menu instead Settings> Security and privacy> More> Install unknown apps, select the browser or app you want to use and move the lever to ON, corresponding to the item Consenti l'installazione di app.
Now connected via browser to this link that refers to the APK Mirror site, locate the latest version of the app Shazam, tap on it and then press the icon of down arrow.
Then tap the button Download aPK and confirm the operation by pressing OK. In case you are asked which app to use to download the file, indicate the browser you are using.
After the automatic download is complete, install the file, taking it through the app Download Android or a third-party file manager app, such as Google files, then press the button first Install and then end. Finally, start Shazam, by pressing on its icon added to the home screen and / or to the drawer screen of your device.
How Shazam works on iOS
Also on iPhone and iPad you can download the free app Shazam: this however requires iOS 10.0 or later.
To do this, first start theApp Store of iOS, pressing on its icon which is blue with the symbol of An A" stylized in the center. After starting it, tap the button Search, located in the menu bar at the bottom, and use the text field that is shown to you, to search and locate the app in question.
If you have found it, install it by pressing the button Get, then confirm the installation of the app, using the Face ID, Touch ID or password of your iCloud account.
Now wait a few seconds for the installation and download to take place correctly and, at the end of this automatic operation, start the app by pressing the button open that is shown to you. To start it faster you can also press on its icon that will have been added to the home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
The use of Shazam on iPhone and iPad it is exactly identical to the one on Android, so, to use this app, refer to the instructions I gave you in the previous chapter.
However, what differentiates the functioning of the app on iOS, compared to Android, is its complete integration with Siri, the iOS assistant. If you have activated the latter, in fact, start it on your device and say the phrase Siri, what song am I listening to?, in order to get the result immediately, without having to manually start the Shazam app.
In the menu that is shown to you following recognition, in addition to knowing the name of the song and that of the artist, press on Buy, to buy the song on Apple Music.
How Shazam for PC works
You can also use Shazam from computer Windows, by connecting to its official website. The Web version of Shazam, however, only allows you to see the videos of the songs, to read the lyrics and integrates a quick link with Apple Music (Listen on Apple Music), but it does not allow you to recognize the music.
To use it, connected to its website, via a browser for browsing the Internet (for example Google Chrome), and click the button Log in, located in the upper right corner, in order to log into your account.
If you previously registered with your Facebook account, then click on Continue via Facebook, otherwise click the button Continue via email, to insert the latter and then press on Continue, after passing the identity verification, by clicking on the box I'm not a robot.
The tracks identified will be visible in the section My Shazam, while to explore the rankings, click on the button Trending, which you can also find located in the top menu bar.
How Shazam works on Mac
If you are using a computer Macinstead, you can download the app through the Mac App Store, as it is compatible with OS X 10.11 or newer versions (to do so, press the button Get, then Install and finally, su open).
After downloading Shazam, award-winning No thanks, if you don't want Shazam to start automatically, when your computer starts. Then press the button OK, to allow access to the microphone (this is necessary only at the first start).
Once this is done, you will find the icon of Shazam added in the menu bar at the top right: press on it and, in the box that is shown to you, click on the button with the logo on Shazam, to scan a song, or double-click to activate the Auto shazam, which, as already explained, scans the songs even with the app in the background.
Wait a few seconds for the scan to take place: at the end you will be shown the track card with title e name. Once you have found the song, click on the button Listen on Apple music to listen to the song in the Apple streaming service.
Alternatively, click on the icon (...) at the top right and then, in the menu that is shown to you, click on the item Save your Shazam, to open the song card on the Shazam website and possibly see the video on Youtube, by clicking on it.
How Shazam Encore works
Alternatively, only on iOS, you can purchase Shazam Encore (costs € 3,49), a paid version that is characterized by the possibility of being able to listen directly from Shazam the whole recognized piece, and not just a preview of it.
However, following the acquisition of Shazam by Apple, this application is being phased out. Moreover, the absence of advertising banners, another feature that characterized it, is now also available in the free app Shazam. For the reasons mentioned above, therefore, it is not worth buying the app at the moment Shazam Encore.
How Shazam works
