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  • You Can Now Shazam Everything
Technology Articles > Software > Business > You Can Now Shazam Everything

Shazam has been a popular app since it was created because we all have that problem of not being able to figure out the name of a song that we’ve just heard. Shazam instantly stops that tune from playing in your head by putting a name to it.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could just Shazam the whole world to find out the names of objects and things simply by hitting that circular Shazam button? Well, now you can.

The New and Improved Shazam

You can now hold your phone’s camera up to any object that has the Shazam logo (a small camera logo that is distinctively Shazam’s), and the app will take a photo of that image and let you know what it is. In a way, the new Shamzan feature really reminds me of QR codes. Companies will use the new Shazam feature to create customized content that users can simply shake a phone at.

For example, if you own a brewing company and you want to send people that drink your beer a private message, you can add the Shazam logo to bottles or coasters. When people take a photo of that image, they will be sent a private message. So, you can see how this really works a lot like QR codes for strict advertising and marketing purposes.

Simple to Use

The new feature is simple to use if you have Shazam. If you don’t have the app, you’ll need to download it in order to get the app’s new feature to work. Once that’s done, you can just aim it any Shazam photo logo you see, and get your private message. So far, the company has teamed up with some big players including Target, Conde Nast, The Walt Disney Company, and HarperCollins publishers.

The Australian branch of Universal Studios plans to use the new Shazam feature to promote the upcoming film, ‘Jurassic World.’ When Shazam users point a camera at a Jurassic World poster, it will be possible to do things like purchase movie tickets and learn about the park through a smartphone. In some ways, this is more advanced than the QR code ever was, but it’s the same kind of marketing idea.

Will It Work?

QR codes were short-lived with some companies embracing the technology and some missing the mark completely. While you can still spot a few QR code stragglers out there, most of those codes have dissipated. Why does Shazam think that the company can do better? Company reps have told press that it’s time for the company to move past audio recognition information, and the new feature is the best way to do that.

It’s hard to imagine how the new Shazam feature will be popular, though. In some ways, it seems like Shazam should stick to music, since that niche is something that people use. If people don’t bother to scan a QR code, they probably won’t bother to Shazam a logo on a poster or elsewhere.

It seems like Shazam has its eyes on marketers, and not so much on the 100 million app users the company already has - then again, if they can find a way to make those scans interesting enough, some people may decide it's worth the trouble to scan a Shazam logo.