Apple has announced that Shazam, a popular music recognition service, launched 20 years ago today. To celebrate the milestone, the company shared a playlist of the most recognized songs from each calendar year over the past 20 years. From Train’s ‘Hey, Soul Sister’ to Sia’s ‘Cheap Thrills,’ this playlist is a true reflection of the music fans around the world have actively searched for over the past 20 years,” Apple said. years of active music searches by fans worldwide.”
Shazam launched as a messaging service in the UK in August 2002 and became one of the first apps in the App Store in July 2008.
Apple acquired Shazam in 2018 for $400 million and has since integrated the music recognition service into the iPhone’s Control Center. Since acquiring Shazam, Apple has been steadily improving Shazam’s services, removing ads from the app, adding concert discovery, enabling Shazam support in third-party apps and other initiatives.
According to Apple, Shazam now has more than 225 million monthly users worldwide, plus more than 70 billion song recognitions. drake is the most recognized musician ever by Shazam, with more than 350 million Shazams in songs he has released or contributed to, and Tones And I’s ” Dance Monkey” is the most Shazam-identified song of all time, with more than 41 million Shazams.
In a press release, Apple cited notable moments and milestones in Shazam’s 20-year history, including the first ever Shazam song, the fastest accumulating Shazam song, the Shazam song chart by genre and more.
Shazam has apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Android and Windows devices, and more. In iOS 14.2 and later, Apple provides a music recognition switch for the Control Center, which in turn allows iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users to quickly and easily identify the music being played through Shazam without having to download the app.
