Launched in 2002, Shazam enables users to explore, engage with and share video or audio content across different devices by capturing brief segments of music, movies, advertisements and television shows. Apple acquired the app, which has been among the most influential sources for finding music for the past 20 years, in 2018 for $400m.
The new feat arrives three years after Shazam surpassed 200 million MAUs. Shazam is also among the longest-standing apps on Apple’s App Store.
African countries have witnessed rapid growth in their Shazam user bases, with African music genres ranking among the fastest-growing. Many African songs have consistently claimed top spots on the annual global charts. Nigerian singer Rema’s ‘Calm Down’ for instance has spent more time at the No 1 position on the Top 100 2023: Shazam chart in the past year than any other song. The track is also the first African-led single to reach a billion streams on Spotify.
Fellow Nigerian singer Ayra Starr also wrapped 2023 in the top 10 of the Top 100 2023: Shazam chart, becoming one of Nigeria’s most shazamed artists.
“‘Finding’ takes strength and passion,” Rema said. “To everyone who took the energy to find this song, I hope it’s giving you joy wherever you are today and I hope it sounds as beautiful as the first day you heard it.”
In January, after being named in Shazam’s breakthrough predictions highlighting the 10 artists to watch this year, Nigerian Instagram star and musician Carter Efe, whose music break arrived via the 2022 hit ‘Machala’, said: “Shazam basically aided in boosting my career to this point. Having the sound was one step, but Shazam made it easier to connect me as an artist to new listeners who may not have known me prior to hearing the sound somewhere and got to Shazam it. In a click, the new user is straight on any of my digital platforms to listen to what I have. It’s really been impactful and I really want to say I’m personally appreciative of it for what it’s done for my music career and other sounds.”
In October, Shazam introduced Concerts, a section within the app dedicated to helping music enthusiasts discover upcoming shows in their area. Accessible on the iOS app within My Music, Concerts offers personalised event suggestions based on a user’s Shazam history. This new feature enhances user experience by providing multiple ways to explore, search and filter concerts by artist, date and location.
Additionally, Shazam now lets users to save and revisit events, set reminders for upcoming shows, view tickets and unlock exclusive content from select artists, including new Watch faces and downloadable wallpapers, behind-the-scenes videos, tour photos, setlists, and more.
Users can check out Shazam’s new Concerts space here and listen to the most Shazamed songs of the year on Apple Music.
