What Song Is Playing? Your Guide to Using Shazam on Apple Devices

Have you ever been in a coffee shop, watching a movie, or just out and about when you hear a song you love, but you have no idea what it’s called? It’s a common scenario, and thankfully, Apple provides a seamless solution right at your fingertips: Shazam. Whether you’re using your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, or even the cutting-edge Apple Vision Pro, figuring out What Song Is Playing is incredibly easy with Shazam.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through all the ways you can use Shazam to identify music and discover new favorites across your Apple ecosystem. From the dedicated Shazam app to the convenient Control Center integration and the power of Siri, you’ll learn how to quickly answer the question, “what song is playing?” no matter where you are.

Discover Music Instantly with the Shazam App

The Shazam app is your central hub for music identification. It offers both manual and automatic song recognition features, and it’s remarkably adept at identifying songs playing even through your headphones on your iPhone or iPad.

Manually Identify a Song

For those moments when you hear a song and want to know “what song is playing” immediately, manual Shazam identification is your go-to method.

Launch the Shazam App: Locate the Shazam app icon on your device and open it.
Tap the Shazam Button: You’ll see the prominent Shazam logo – tap or click this button to initiate song recognition.

Image: The Shazam app icon, a white “S” on a blue background, indicating where to tap to identify a song.

Feel free to switch to other apps while Shazam works its magic in the background to figure out what song is playing. Once identified, you’ll receive a notification revealing the song title and artist.

Even without an internet connection, Shazam is smart enough to create a digital fingerprint of the music. The next time your device connects to the internet, Shazam will attempt to match this fingerprint against its vast database and let you know what song is playing.

It’s worth noting that songs identified using the standalone Shazam app on Mac are stored locally. They won’t sync across your devices, nor will they be backed up to iCloud. For seamless syncing and iCloud backup on your Mac, you should utilize Shazam Music Recognition in Control Center, which we’ll discuss later.

Automatically Identify Songs with Auto Shazam

Want Shazam to continuously listen in the background and automatically identify music around you? Auto Shazam is the perfect feature for effortlessly discovering what song is playing without manually tapping the button each time.

Activate Auto Shazam: Press and hold (or double-click on Mac) the Shazam button to turn on Auto Shazam. You’ll know it’s active when the Shazam button changes appearance, often with a ripple effect or animation.
Deactivate Auto Shazam: Simply tap (or click on Mac) the Shazam button again to turn off automatic listening.
Automatic Shazam on App Start (Optional): For even quicker access to automatic identification on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, you can set Shazam to start listening as soon as you open the app. To enable this, go to “My Music” at the bottom of the screen, tap the Settings button (gear icon), and toggle on “Shazam on app start.”

Songs identified with Auto Shazam on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro are conveniently grouped by date in the “My Music” section for easy browsing and review.

Access Your Shazam History

Curious about songs you’ve identified in the past? Shazam keeps a record of your discoveries, so you can always revisit and rediscover what song was playing previously.

iPhone or iPad: Tap “My Music” at the bottom of the screen to view your Shazam history. To remove a song from your list, tap the “More” button (three dots) next to the song and select “Remove from My Music.”

Image: The “More” button icon in Shazam, represented by three horizontal dots, used to access options for identified songs.
Apple Watch: Recently identified songs are displayed below the Shazam button on the watch app and are also saved to “My Music” on your paired iPhone.
Mac: Recent songs are listed directly below the Shazam button within the app interface.

Use Shazam Music Recognition in Control Center for Quick Access

For even faster access to Shazam, especially when you frequently find yourself asking “what song is playing?“, adding Shazam Music Recognition to your device’s Control Center is a game-changer. This feature is available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and it can identify songs playing on your device, even when using headphones.

What’s more, if you have the Shazam app installed on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, songs identified through Control Center and Siri seamlessly integrate with your Shazam ecosystem:

They appear in “My Music” within the Shazam app.
They’re visible in the History view within Shazam in Control Center across all your devices.
They are securely backed up to iCloud.

Adding Shazam Music Recognition to Control Center on iPhone and iPad

Open Control Center: On your iPhone or iPad, swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen (on iPhones with Face ID) or swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen (on iPhones with a Home button) to access Control Center.
Customize Controls: Tap the “Add Controls” (+) button, usually located at the bottom of the Control Center interface.
Add Music Recognition: Find “Recognize Music” in the list of available controls and tap the “+” button next to it to add it to your Control Center.
Close Control Center: Swipe up from the bottom center of the screen to close Control Center.
Identify Songs: Now, whenever you want to know “what song is playing?“, simply open Control Center and tap the “Recognize Music” button (which looks like the Shazam logo).
Access Shazam History via Control Center: To view your Shazam history directly from Control Center, press and hold the “Recognize Music” button, then tap “History”.

Adding Shazam Music Recognition to Control Center on Mac

Open System Settings: Click the Apple menu () in the top-left corner of your screen and choose “System Settings”.
Navigate to Control Center: Click on “Control Center” in the sidebar menu.
Enable Music Recognition in Control Center: Under “Music Recognition,” toggle on “Show in Control Center.”
Optional: Add to Menu Bar: If you want even quicker access, you can also toggle on “Show in Menu Bar” to add the Music Recognition button to your Mac’s menu bar at the top of the screen.
Identify Songs: To use Shazam, click the “Music Recognition” button in Control Center (or the menu bar if you added it), and then click the button again to start identifying what song is playing.
Access Shazam History via Control Center (Mac): Click the “Music Recognition” button in Control Center (or the menu bar) to view your Shazam history.

Once you’ve identified a song, clicking or tapping on it in the History view will often provide you with more information about the song and artist, including upcoming concert dates, music videos, and more.

Sync Shazam with iCloud for Backup and Access Across Devices

To ensure your identified songs are safely backed up and accessible across all your Apple devices, syncing Shazam with iCloud is crucial. When enabled, songs identified via the Shazam app (on iPhone, iPad, or Vision Pro), Shazam Music Recognition in Control Center, Siri, or Shortcuts are automatically:

Saved across all your devices logged into the same Apple ID.
Synced to “My Music” within the Shazam app on all devices.
Securely stored in iCloud.

If you’re not experiencing this seamless syncing, here are a few troubleshooting steps:

Update Shazam: Make sure you have the latest version of the Shazam app installed on your iPhone or iPad.
Two-Factor Authentication: Verify that two-factor authentication is set up for your Apple Account.
Check iCloud Sync in Shazam App:
- Open the Shazam app on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro.
- Swipe up on the main Shazam screen to access “My Music.”
- Tap the Settings button (gear icon), and then tap “iCloud Sync” to ensure it’s turned on.
Verify iCloud Settings for Shazam:
- iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro: Go to “Settings” > your name > “iCloud” > “See All” under “Apps Using iCloud.” Confirm that “Shazam” is enabled in the list.
- Mac: Go to Apple menu () > “System Settings” > “Apple ID” > “iCloud” > “See All” next to “iCloud Drive.” Ensure “Shazam” is checked in the list.
Enable Music Recognition: On your iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro, and Mac, double-check that Shazam Music Recognition is also turned on in Control Center settings.

With iCloud sync enabled, your Shazam history benefits from end-to-end encryption, guaranteeing that only you can access it on your trusted devices. Note that enabling iCloud sync means your Shazam history will no longer be viewable on Shazam.com.

If you choose not to use iCloud backup, your identified songs will still be saved locally on the device where they were identified. You can enable iCloud backup at any time unless you’ve restored your device to factory settings or are using a new device.

Remember that songs identified using the Shazam app for Mac are not synced across devices or backed up to iCloud; they remain locally stored on your Mac. To achieve seamless syncing across your Apple ecosystem, prioritize using Music Recognition in Control Center instead of the Shazam app on Mac for identifying what song is playing.

Leverage Siri and Other Convenient Methods

Besides the Shazam app and Control Center, Apple offers even more ways to quickly answer “what song is playing?“

Siri: On any of your Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, HomePod, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro), simply activate Siri by saying “Hey Siri,” and then ask, “What song is playing?” or “Identify this song.” Songs identified by Siri will also appear in “My Music” in the Shazam app, in the History view of Music Recognition, and will be backed up to iCloud, just like songs identified through Control Center.
Shazam Widget (iPhone & iPad): Add the Shazam widget to your iPhone or iPad’s Today View for one-tap access to music identification directly from your home screen or Lock Screen.
Shazam on Apple Watch: Use the dedicated Shazam app on your Apple Watch for on-the-wrist song identification.
Shortcuts Integration: For advanced users, the “Shazam It” action in the Shortcuts app allows you to create custom workflows and automations that incorporate music recognition.

Purchase Your Shazam Discoveries

Once you’ve identified what song is playing and found a new track you love, Shazam makes it easy to purchase it directly from iTunes.

Tap the “More” Button: In Shazam, tap the “More” button (three dots) next to the song you want to purchase.
Select “Buy on iTunes”: Tap “Buy on iTunes” from the options.
Purchase in iTunes Store: You’ll be taken to the iTunes Store page for the song. Tap the price next to the song to initiate the purchase.
Sign in to Apple Account: Follow the prompts to sign in to your Apple Account to complete the transaction.
Access Purchased Music: Find your newly purchased music in the Apple Music app under the “Library” tab.
Download for Offline Listening: To listen to your purchased music offline, tap the Download button (cloud icon).

If you don’t see the “Buy on iTunes” button directly in Shazam, you can still check for purchase options by visiting the iTunes Store app and searching for the song.

Microphone Permissions for Shazam

For Shazam to effectively identify what song is playing, it needs microphone access on your device. On iPhone or iPad, you may be prompted to grant microphone access when you first use the app. If you need to adjust these settings later:

Open Settings: Launch the “Settings” app on your iPhone or iPad.
Scroll to Apps: Scroll down the list of settings until you find your installed apps.
Tap Shazam: Tap on “Shazam” in the app list.
Enable Microphone: Ensure the “Microphone” toggle is turned on.

If you don’t see a Microphone option in Shazam’s settings, it’s possible that you have restrictions enabled in your device’s Privacy settings that are preventing microphone access. You may need to review and adjust your Privacy settings to allow Shazam to use the microphone.

With these comprehensive methods, you’re now fully equipped to answer the question “what song is playing?” anytime, anywhere, using your Apple devices and the power of Shazam. Enjoy discovering new music and expanding your musical horizons!