Today’s music market has a range of apps to help one identify and gain more information on one’s favorite songs. Some popular music identification apps are Shazam, SoundHound, MusicID, musiXmatch, etc. Are you in a fix about which one to choose? Techspirited fixes your problem with a comparison of the apps, SoundHound and Shazam.
Apps at Your Service!
SoundHound was known as Midomi till 2009, which used the retrieval system, Query by Humming, in the identification of songs.
2002 saw Shazam rechristened as 2580, a mobile phone shortcode to help users to recognize the songs they heard. It was launched only in the U.K.
Maggie Stiefvater in Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception says,“You’re like a song that I heard when I was a little kid but forgot I knew until I heard it again.” Just as the lyrics state, these apps help you to identify the song you heard long ago or just a few minutes ago with the name of the song, the artist, and the lyrics at your disposal in a matter of few seconds.
In the past, when you heard a new tune, you had to ask someone about it, or maybe hum it till you got it right. However, today with a press of a button, your phone can identify that tune. All you have to do is:
- Make sure your phone is connected to the Internet.
- Place the smartphone in the song’s direction, and hit the recording button.
- Let the app listen to the tune for at least 10 seconds.
- Switch off the button after you are done.
In case of no internet connectivity, your search will be saved as pending.
Wondering how these apps work?
- The apps consist of a vast library of songs.
- The songs or clips are converted into simple numeric codes when you feed a music piece to the app.
- The app in turn matches your music clip code to the codes in its library.
| Parameter | SOUNDHOUND | SHAZAM |
| Founders | It was founded by Keyvan Mohajer and released in 2009. | It was founded by Chris Barton, Philip Inghelbrecht, Avery Wang, and Dhiraj Mukherjee and released in 2002. |
| Operating Platform | Android, iOS, Windows, Blackberry, and Symbian | Android, iOS, Windows, Blackberry, and Symbian |
| Other Versions | SoundHound Infinity (paid) and Hound | Shazam Encore (paid) and (SHAZAM)RED (paid) |
| Input | Via recorded music, singing, humming | Via recorded music |
| Working of the APP | SoundHound uses Sound2Sound and Query by humming (QbH) technology for identification. Features of the tune are converted in Crystal representations. These representations are matched with the database to get the search result. | Shazam uses the digital fingerprint technique to give codes to the songs in their database. The same technique is used to code the music piece fed for identification. Codes are matched to get the search result. |
| Speed | This app takes around 4 seconds to find a song. For recorded songs, SoundHound produces results much faster than Shazam. However, it can take more than 10 seconds if the song is not well-known. | This app takes around 3 seconds to find a song. However, it can take more than 10 seconds if the song is not well-known. |
| Accuracy | For recorded songs, SoundHound gives accurate results. | Shazam gives 100% accuracy for recorded songs. On the plus side, Shazam identifies correct songs from remixes and live recordings better than SoundHound. |
| Library | SoundHound contains around 10 million songs and more. | The app’s library consists of around 10 million songs. The database is expanding as the in-house music team sources music from over 100 countries. |
| Genres | SoundHound can search music from several genres like rock n’ roll, hip hop, etc. | Shazam can search music from various genres, especially jazz and classical. |
| Tags, History, and Charts | The app provides information like song title, name of the artist, album cover, and album release date. The app shows 25 most tagged charts as well as the songs which are getting popular and those losing their ranking. You can browse the tracks through the tag history and bookmark them. | The app provides information like song title, album cover, genre, tag date, and name of the artist. It shows 10 most tagged charts. The app allows you to browse the tracks through the tag history but bookmark feature is absent. |
| Downloading and Sharing | Songs can be downloaded on iTunes and shared on Facebook, Twitter, via mail and SMS. Pandora users can directly launch Pandora station from tagged tracks. | Songs can be downloaded on iTunes and shared on Facebook, Twitter, and via mail. |
For more information on these apps, click the links given below.
SoundHound
Shazam
As Billy Joel said, “I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.”
So what do you think is best for you, an app that just helps you tag a track, or one that will give you more information about your favorite song. More than the apps, it is what you are that mattersāsomeone who would choose a track and proceed with other chores or a total music freak. Hope Buzzle’s comparison chart helps you settle for the one which suits you best.