|
|
Sept. 26, 2004 Don't you hate it when you hear a new song on the radio or at a club and don't know what it is? Or when you hear another car with speakers blaring and how you can't really roll down the window and ask them what they have on deck. Soon all you will have to do is break out your cellphone and point it towards the music. Such is the new music tagging technology being driven by London-based Shazam Entertainment. Here's how it works: You, being an on-the-go hipster, stumble upon some new auditory delight. You dial a code on your phone ("2580" in the U.K.) and aim it at the music source. Shazam uses its massive database of music to digitally identify the track and send you an immediate text message with the artist's name and song title. The information is stored and available on a 'tagged' song list providing details for purchase and download. The technology is able to recognize the music by analyzing multiple aspects of the track such as tone, pitch and placement of notes. No more guessing or calling into the radio DJ to ask what that song was. The Los Angeles Times reports that Shazam has been licensed for use in the U.S. through AT&T Wireless (as MusicID) and Virgin Mobile USA (as SongID). As competition between wireless providers heats up, users have become the beneficiaries with new advancements used to entice switchover.
|