Shazam Reaches 100 Billion Song Recognitions: Milestone in Music Discovery

Shazam has achieved over 100 billion song recognitions since its launch. Here are some key highlights:

• This is like identifying 12 songs for every person on Earth.
• To reach 100 billion recognitions, someone would need to use Shazam every second for 3,168 years.
• This number is over 2,200 times the total recognitions of Shazam’s most popular song, “Dance Monkey,” which has more than 45 million tags.
• Benson Boone’s song “Beautiful Things” became the fastest song to reach 10 million recognitions this year, achieving this in just 178 days. At this rate, it would take over 4,800 years to hit 100 billion.

Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats, stated, “This milestone shows how much people enjoy using Shazam and their love for discovering new music.” Shazam began in 2002 as an SMS service in the UK. Users would call 2580, hold up their phones, and receive the song name and artist via text. The service grew in popularity after the launch of the App Store in 2008 and the subsequent iOS app.

Shazam joined Apple in 2018, enhancing its technology and user experience. Recent features include Music Recognition on iOS and macOS, allowing users to identify music quickly, even while using headphones. The latest watchOS update adds Shazam as a widget, suggesting songs when music is detected.

Shazam has over 300 million monthly active users. During the recent games in Paris, Kavinsky’s “Nightcall” became the most identified song in one minute, highlighting Shazam’s role in music trends.

You can listen to Shazam’s Top 100 Songs of All Time on Apple Music.