About Shazam
I downloaded Shazam after my old music ID app started acting up, not recognizing songs it used to get instantly. I’m the type who reads every review and tests every free feature before considering a purchase, so I gave Shazam a shot. It’s a music identifier app that listens to a few seconds of audio and tells you the song name, artist, and album. Sometimes it catches movies or TV shows too. It’s made by Apple now, which is a little weird since I’m on a Google Pixel 7, but it still works. I’ve used it for several months now, mostly at coffee shops or in my car when a song plays on the radio. The basic idea is solid, and it does what it says, but I’ve noticed some hiccups that make me hesitant to upgrade.
Features & Highlights
The main feature is the big button you tap to identify whatever’s playing. You hold your phone near the sound, and within a few seconds it usually spits out a match. I’ve used it about 10 to 15 times this month already, and it works fine for most top 40 stuff or classic rock. It also shows lyrics, music videos, and links to streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music. That’s nice if you want to immediately listen to the full song. There’s a history tab that saves every ID you’ve made, which is useful for remembering that catchy tune from last Tuesday at the grocery store. Another cool thing is the Auto Shazam mode, which keeps listening even when the app is in the background. I tried that once during a road trip, and it caught maybe half the songs on the radio before I hit the monthly limit. Honestly, the features are solid for a free app, but nothing blew my mind.
User Experience
Using Shazam on my Pixel 7 is pretty straightforward. You open the app, tap the big button, and wait. It usually takes 3 to 5 seconds for a match. The interface is clean but feels a bit cluttered with all the social sharing buttons and suggestions for playlists I don’t care about. I just want to ID a song and move on. There are occasional misses though. Last Saturday night at a friend’s house party, Shazam couldn’t identify a punk song playing—just said “no match found.” That was frustrating because my old app would’ve caught it. Another time it misidentified a jazz track as some random pop song. Not a huge deal, but when it happens multiple times in a week, it makes me wonder if I should stick with free or look elsewhere. The app also drains battery if you use Auto Shazam for long stretches, but that’s expected.
Pricing
This is where I get annoyed. Shazam is free to download and use, but there’s a monthly cap on how many songs you can identify. I think it’s around 20 per month before they push you to subscribe to Shazam Premium. For a free app, that’s okay, but I hit that cap twice now. The first time was last month after a weekend of bar hopping with friends—I must’ve ID’d 10 songs in one night. The app just stopped working and asked me to upgrade. Premium costs $4.99 a month or something like that, which removes the cap and adds features like offline mode and unlimited Shazams. For a budget-conscious person like me, that price feels steep. I’m not paying $60 a year just to ID songs I’ll forget in a week. There’s no free trial for premium either, which I hate. I want to test stuff before committing. So for now, I just live with the limit and use the app sparingly.
Updates & Support
Amazon seems to push updates fairly often. I’ve seen a handful of updates in the past months. But my support experience wasn’t great. I had an issue where the app kept crashing when I tapped the Shazam button. This happened after an update in early March. I contacted their support through the in-app help center. I got an automated reply saying they’d look into it, then after 3 days I got a vague message asking me to reinstall and clear cache. I already did that before contacting them. I replied explaining the problem again, but nobody wrote back for another week. Eventually the issue fixed itself after another update. That left me feeling ignored. If I had paid for premium and got that level of support, I’d be furious. For free, it’s annoying but tolerable. Still, they could train their support team to give real answers, not copy-paste responses.
Security & Privacy
I’m not super paranoid about apps listening to me, but I do check permissions. Shazam asks for microphone access, which makes sense since it needs to hear audio. It also wants location access, which I denied because I don’t see why it needs that. It likely uses location to suggest local concerts or trending songs in your area, but I’m not interested. On privacy, it’s owned by Apple, which has a decent reputation for not selling user data. But the app does collect info like what you Shazam and your device details. Their privacy policy is long and boring. I skimmed it. They say they use data to improve the app and show relevant ads. For a free app, that’s standard. I haven’t noticed any weird behavior on my Pixel 7, like battery drain or random notifications. So for now, I’m okay with it, but I keep the location permission off just to be safe.
How does Shazam's Auto Shazam mode work, and is there a limit on how many songs it can identify?
Auto Shazam mode lets the app continuously listen for music even when running in the background, which is great for road trips or parties. However, it counts toward your monthly identification cap, and the reviewer found it caught only about half the songs on the radio before hitting that limit.
Can Shazam identify songs from movies or TV shows, and does it show lyrics and streaming links?
Yes, Shazam can sometimes identify audio from movies or TV shows in addition to music. After identifying a song, it also displays lyrics, music videos, and direct links to streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music so you can listen to the full track.
What should I do if Shazam fails to identify a song or misidentifies it?
If Shazam shows 'no match found' or misidentifies a track, try moving closer to the sound source or reducing background noise, as the app struggles with obscure genres like punk or jazz. If the issue persists, check if you've hit your monthly free limit (around 20 IDs), which will block further identifications until the next month or until you upgrade to Premium.
Why did Shazam stop working after I identified several songs in one day, and how can I fix it?
Shazam has a monthly cap of roughly 20 free song identifications, and once you hit that limit, the app will stop identifying songs and prompt you to upgrade to Shazam Premium for $4.99/month. To continue using it for free, you'll need to wait until the next month when your limit resets.
How does Shazam compare to other music identification apps like SoundHound for identifying obscure or non-mainstream songs?
While Shazam works well for top 40 and classic rock, the reviewer found it sometimes fails with punk, jazz, or other niche genres, whereas their previous app caught those songs. For better accuracy with obscure tracks, you might consider alternatives like SoundHound, which often excels at identifying less common music.
