How to get insights from Shazam
Get to know where a song is played, such as in public places or by local DJs.
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Let’s dive into today’s topic:
How to get insights from Shazam
While many DIY artists are familiar with Spotify for Artists, other platforms, such as Shazam, can also provide valuable insights.
Why it matters
Over 225 million smartphone owners use Shazam to identify songs. We can assume that the majority of users do so when they like the music. For artists promoting their music, it’s valuable to know where, when and how much this occurs.
How it works
Shazam for Artists
Apple owns Shazam, and they provide artists and their teams with Shazam data in their Apple Music for Artists platform. It offers insights into where their music is played, such as in public places or by local DJs.
It displays when and where a song is Shazammed.
Trends can be narrowed down to demographics such as gender and age.
Places can be narrowed down to countries and cities.
Apple Music for Artists displays when a song hits the Shazam Charts in a genre, country or city.
Apple Music for Artists includes Shazam data in their weekly recap email. hen a song is trending on Shazam, they’ll send out a separate weekly ‘Trending on Shazam’ email.
Shazam Charts
Shazam Charts list the most Shazamed songs worldwide, per genre or within a country or city. This data is useful for people who work with music, such as local DJs.
Worldwide: The most Shazamed songs worldwide
Within a genre: The most Shazamed dance tracks worldwide
Within a country: The most Shazamed songs in the Netherlands
Within a city: The most Shazamed songs in Berlin
For some countries, country-specific genre charts: The most Shazamed hip-hop/rap tracks in Germany
Shazam Discovery charts emerging acts and trending songs within a country, for selected countries.
Yes, but..
I don’t believe that Shazam data offers key metrics for artists when promoting music. There’s always a measurement fallacy because what’s measured is nothing more than a Shazam user who wants to know what song is playing. We can only guess the context of that situation and their attitude towards the music. However, the data provides artists with insight into where their music is played in public places. It’s up to the artist and their team to act upon that.
Take action now
Artists, obtain access to Apple Music for Artists.
Local DJs and industry professionals, check out Shazam Charts.
Further reading
As new Shazam Charts launch in 17 countries including Nigeria and Ghana, Apple Music hails app’s role in discovery of African music globally (Music Business Worldwide)
See how Shazam works for artists (Apple Music for Artists support)