Music recognition website and app

Shazam

Shazam identifies songs from short audio samples, then connects listeners to lyrics, charts, artist pages, concerts, and streaming services.

Core use

Shazam is used to identify songs playing nearby or inside another app, then save the result for later.

Official site

Shazam's website highlights music discovery, charts, lyrics, concerts, and app access.

Current owner

Apple owns Shazam and integrates music recognition into iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, Siri, and Control Center.

Shazam is a music recognition website and app for identifying songs, saving discoveries, viewing lyrics, following charts, and finding concerts.View image on original site

What Shazam is

Shazam is a music recognition website and app that identifies songs playing nearby or inside other apps. On Shazam, people can find music, charts, lyrics, artist pages, concerts, and links into listening services. The service is closely tied to Apple's devices while also supporting Android.

How song identification works

In everyday use, Shazam listens to a short sample of audio and matches it against a catalog of known recordings. A successful match can return the song title, artist, album artwork, lyrics, music video links, and listening options. The match depends on the recording being recognized, the audio being clear enough, and metadata being available for the track.

Apps, web, and device shortcuts

Shazam can be used from its mobile apps, the web, Apple Watch, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, Siri, and iPhone or iPad Control Center. Apple also documents ways to identify music playing in other apps, including social video apps, and to keep Shazam listening automatically with Auto Shazam.

Charts, discovery, and concerts

Beyond answering 'what song is this,' Shazam works as a discovery surface. Its site and apps show charts, artist pages, lyrics, radio-spin data, and concert information, so a one-time recognition can turn into a path for following an artist or finding a nearby show.

Privacy and saved songs

Apple's Shazam guide says Shazam does not record or store detected audio, and Apple has no access to audio captured on device. Identified songs are saved in the Shazam app, where listeners can revisit them, open them in a music service, or use them as a personal history of music they encountered.

Why it matters

Shazam made music search feel instant in situations where a listener might not know the artist, title, language, or lyrics. That changed how people move from hearing a song in public, in a video, or on a broadcast to saving it, streaming it, and learning more about the artist.

Limits and cautions

Song recognition is not perfect. Background noise, live performances, remixes, unreleased tracks, very short clips, and regional rights limits can all affect the result. A Shazam match should be treated as a strong identification clue, not as a complete music database record for every version of a song.

WHOIS domain data

Data pulled: May 19, 2026View current WHOIS record

Domain: shazam.com
IP address: 35.244.183.82
Registrar: Nom-iq Ltd. dba COM LAUDE
WHOIS server: whois.comlaude.com
Referral URL: http://www.comlaude.com
Created: May 3, 1995
Updated: January 13, 2026
Expires: August 26, 2026
Nameservers: ns-281.awsdns-35.com (205.251.193.25); ns-974.awsdns-57.net (205.251.195.206); ns-1194.awsdns-21.org (205.251.196.170); ns-1571.awsdns-04.co.uk (205.251.198.35)
Domain status: clientDeleteProhibited; clientTransferProhibited; clientUpdateProhibited; serverDeleteProhibited; serverTransferProhibited; serverUpdateProhibited
Contact privacy: Registrant name, admin contact, and technical contact are redacted; registrant organization is listed as Apple Inc.

Key concepts

Audio matchingShazam compares a short sample of sound with known recordings to identify a likely song.
Saved discoveriesRecognized songs can be kept in the app so a listener can return to them later.
Music RecognitionApple devices can identify songs from Control Center or Siri without manually opening the full app.

Website features

Search and browse songs, artists, lyrics, charts, concerts, and music discovery pages.
Open identified songs in music services when supported by the listener's device, region, and subscription.
Use app links and device integrations to identify music from nearby audio or from other apps.

Common misconceptions

Shazam does not identify every sound; it is focused on matching music recordings in its recognition system.
A song result is not the same as owning or downloading that track.
A match can be wrong or missing when the audio is noisy, altered, live, unreleased, or too short.

Open questions

How will music recognition adapt as short-form video, remixes, and AI-assisted music creation keep changing how songs circulate?
How much discovery will happen inside standalone music apps compared with device-level assistants and social platforms?
How should recognition services balance fast answers with privacy expectations around microphones and background listening?