Skip to main content

Apple Music takes a peek at what people are Shazaming for new weekly playlist

Apple Music and Spotify. They’re the music streaming titans battling it out for supremacy around the world, and so far, Spotify is in the lead. One of the features that make Spotify so popular is its constantly updated playlists. They’re the key new music discovery on the service and its Discover Weekly playlist is one of the biggest. It’s likely the inspiration behind Apple Music’s latest feature, a new chart/playlist called Shazam Discovery Top 50, the first of its kind on Apple Music that uses the company’s Shazam acquisition.

It’s not entirely clear just how the Shazam app and its massive group of users are contributing to the list, which is a global ranking of 50 artists that are “on the move and trending.” This could be the biggest names in music, but we also get the sense it will tend to favor up-and-coming artists. “Shazam’s proprietary algorithms [will offer] a unique predictive view on rising artists and reacting tracks to Apple Music subscribers,” Apple told Variety. The chart will be updated every Tuesday to reflect the latest changes in rank.

Related Videos

“The ranked songs are all at different points in their individual lifecycle and the majority of artists represented are emerging and up-and-coming,” Apple said. “All are experiencing a level of momentum indicative of future potential of hitting the top of Shazam’s Charts, and show any or all of the following patterns: Moving quickly through Shazam’s charts, growing rapidly, steadily and/or geographically.”

The chart is available in the U.S., but international availability may vary. When we checked as of the publication time of this story, the chart could not be accessed in the Canadian Apple Music app, or on iTunes.

This marks the first time Apple has integrated Shazam into Apple Music — at least on a public-facing basis. Acquired by Apple a year ago, Shazam’s music identification service is used 20 million times a day. The Shazam app — for iOS and Android — has been downloaded more than 1 billion times. With that kind of usage, Shazam must possess a data vault that would make even Google envious. Presumably, Apple will continue to leverage insights from Shazam within Apple Music, and possibly its other online services too. In its ongoing battle with Spotify, it will need to use every advantage it can find.

Editors' Recommendations

YouTube TV rolls out multiview: watch up to 4 NCAA games at once
An example of YouTube TV's multiview feature.

If you love college basketball and can process more than one game at a time, you're going to go bananas for YouTube TV's new multiview feature, which will be rolling out on a limited, early access basis starting March 14.  With multiview, you'll be able to pick up to four channels and see them all simultaneously, with the ability to easily flip the active audio from one to another. The new feature is compatible with any TV-based YouTube TV installations (streaming media players, smart TVs, and game consoles), but it doesn't yet work on mobile devices or computers.

Initially, multiview will only be available to select YouTube TV users, who will be chosen at random. But Google says the goal is to include every subscriber by the time NFL football season starts in the fall. Another limitation, at least for now, is that YouTube TV will preselect the multiview channels you can choose. At launch, only channels that carry NCAA tournament games will be included in that preselected list.
How to use YouTube TV multiview
If you're one of the lucky, randomly chosen users, you'll see an option to watch up to four preselected, different streams at once in your “Top Picks for You” section. After selecting multiview, you can switch audio and captions between streams, and jump in and out of a full-screen view of a game.
It's all about sports
At the moment, YouTube TV sees multiview as an enhancement of the sports viewing experience, so only sports content will be eligible. YouTube TV has had some big sports wins in 2022, including 4K coverage of the Soccer World Cup, and that trend will continue in 2023 thanks to its acquisition of the NFL Sunday Ticket games. However, YouTube TV recently lost access to MLB Network and the MLB.tv add-on, which reduces the amount of sports content available for multiview in 2023.

Read more
Pioneer Elite’s latest flagship AVR is jammed with new audio tech
Pioneer Elite VSX-LX805 AVR with a TV.

Pioneer electronics makes some of the best AV receivers money can buy, and its flagship Pioneer Elite brand is about to push that envelope further with the announcement of its latest AVR (audio video receiver), the Elite VSX-LX805. The 11.2.4-channel network receiver will be available this Spring for a premium $2,999, but that big price gets you big power at 150 watts per channel, a new 32-bit digital audio converter, some AI-driven room calibration, and some audiophile upgrades.

The Pioneer Elite VSX-LX805 is the first Pioneer receiver to be designed in cooperation with Premium Audio Company since its licensing agreement with Pioneer/Pioneer Elite in 2021, which put them in charge of marketing and selling the brands' AVR business globally (except in China). PAC is a powerhouse of home audio gear, with huge brands under its umbrella, including Klipsch, Onkyo, Teac, and Energy, so expectations are high for its new arrivals. 

Read more
I used two of the year’s oddest tech gadgets so you don’t have to
The open Nokia 5710 XpressAudio and Huawei Watch Buds

If you’re intent on not keeping your true wireless earbuds in a normal charging case, and want to hide them inside a different gadget, now is your time. The Huawei Watch Buds is a smartwatch with a pair of true wireless headphones inside, and the Nokia 5710 XpressAudio is a 4G phone that stores a pair of earbuds in the back.

It’s a bizarre niche that I’m surprised contains two products. I’ve used them, so it's my duty to report that both are a bit silly — and I don’t want to use any more of them, thank you very much. However, for the few people out there thinking they want to buy one, this is what they're like. For everyone else, you get to marvel at two of the oddest tech products seen in a while.
Phone or smartwatch?

Read more