Shazam adds built-in music player powered by Spotify

In July, Shazam partnered with Rdio to allow users to playback full songs after they Shazam them, now, the music discovery app has undergone an update to change the way users interact with it.

Announced today, the app for iOS and Android has added a built-in music player that extends its partnership with Spotify, allowing its paid users to stream full tracks and playlists using their Spotify or Rdio accounts. As it did with Rdio subscribers in the past, the update will automatically add all Shazamed tracks to a dedicated or elected playlist on Spotify. The Spotify integration isn’t expected to hit Android at the same time as it does iOS.

When TMN spoke to Shazam Australia’s Sales Director Steve Sos in June, he said Shazam was talking to creative agencies and brands about owning their "acoustic IP". “With a label, because we get that signal of intent in terms of Shazaming a certain artist, we can build a community or a device ID around people that Shazam a particular artist and retarget them via a News Feed push," Sos told TMN.

Now, the News Feed it introduced a year ago as a tab has been given a revamp on the app’s home screen. It uses real-time data allowing users to see "personalised music news and real time trending songs," and the ability to interact with friends and artists.

Shazam will also launch a Hall of Fame for the artists and tracks its users have most asked the app to identify. The first four song entries considered Platinum - with more than 15 million queries - are Avicii and Aloe Blacc's Wake Me Up, Gotye and Kimbra's Somebody That I Used to Know, Robin Thicke, T.I and Pharrell's Blurred Lines and Passenger's Let Her Go.

The news follows a big brand awareness push for Shazam Australia with Southern Cross Austereo announcing a nightly countdown show in partnership with the app in October. The Shazam Top 20 replaced The Bump on October 20 and is hosted by The Bump’s Angus O’Loughlin and his ex-Take 40 co-host and The Loop TV show presenter Ash London. The pair count down Australia’s most Shazamed songs based on a daily chart of songs Shazamed from consumer’s mobile device the day prior.