iPhone Apps Star Shazam Beefs Up Catalogue

Mobile music discovery provider Shazam has extended its catalogue from 6 million to 8 million tracks. Shazam is also getting a lot of legs with its iPhone app. It made the list of Top Free Apps for 2008 on the iTunes storefront. I’ve also noticed that it has appeared in nationwide spots for the iPhone and its Apps Store.

Now, I’ve been watching the music recognition space for sometime now. I’ve questioned its utility – how many times when I’m out will I hear a song that I don’t know, be able to access the app in time to actually use it to recognize the music I’m listening to. Then there is the content. Is the catalogue robust enough to recognize (that version of the) song that I’m listening to? The iPhone certainly hurdles some of the usability issues – as it’s pretty easy to launch the app. It looks like Shazam is bolstering the content catalogue, which is a good thing. And, now with ad support (I don’t have to pay for the service), but can potentially find/purchase the track on the go, taps into the mobile context and fulfilling the need to have it right now. All in all, I’m starting to better understand the value, but to me it is still a niche app.

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