Shazam Now Lets You Know What Artists Have Shazamed

It seems that everyone and anyone in the music streaming biz is scampering now that Apple is launching its own Apple Music service. Google has unexpectedly added free ad-supported streaming radio to their service. Tidal abruptly fires its CEO almost in panic over an impending competition. And now Shazam has announced a new feature that goes slightly beyond its regular music discovery feature and into the realm of social networking for artists. Coincidentally, that's the very same feature that Apple has been advertising from the get go in Apple Music Connect.

Shazam is now giving a heavier emphasis on the relationship between fans and artists who are, according to Shazam, also using the service. Aside from just merely discovering what song is playing and who the artist is, users can now follow artists just as they would on regular social networks. Fans will be kept abreast with their favorite artists' new albums, singles, and videos.

The most interesting part of this networking, however, is the fact that users will also see what these artists themselves are "Shazaming". Of course, no artist probably has encyclopedic knowledge of every song ever written or played and might need a memory boost from time to time. It does, however, feel almost gimmicky and gossipy, as if trying to rope in more users just to see which songs artists apparently don't know.

Shazam is launching its new feature with over 30 artists already earmarked for following, including Pitbull, who apparently has the most number of followers, Maroon 5, One Direction, Shakira, Mariah Carey, and more. And no, Taylor Swift isn't included.

This new Personal Music Home feature undoubtedly adds a new dimension to a formerly single purpose service like Shazam. The timing of the announcement, however, makes one think up conspiracy theories. The implementation also sounds a bit hurried, just tacked on for the sake of it. Or, in context, for the sake of joining the crowd.

SOURCE: Shazam