Shazam for iPad turns to TV tagging

Tagging music in commercials and programming could lead to advertising and promotion boon

Shazam, a music identification service for mobile phones, has accumulated over 15 million users on the iPhone and iPod Touch since launching in the summer of 2008. Naturally, with the launch of the Apple iPad, the UK-based company is looking to expand its usability to new avenues.

“We’re going beyond the tag,” said CEO Andrew Fisher. “The next step for Shazam places more emphasis on browsability and discoverability.”

Available on the iPad from day one, Shazam allows users to browse and create tags just by recording the music in their environment directly through the device's microphone. Tags can then be shared through social media like Twitter and Facebook. The iPad version has even more features than its smaller mobile counterparts; users can look through artist biographies, discographies, and lyrics and can generate tag lists without ever having to tag the song.

Assuming that many people will be using Shazam for iPad to tag music right at home, Shazam is looking into what it can do to make tagging music in TV shows and commercials a more interactive experience.

“A lot of people already tag music in television commercials, especially automobile commercials,” Fisher said. “So we know people are using Shazam while watching TV.”

For example, Shazam currently has a promotion where users who tag HBO's "How to Make It in America" could unlock cool bonuses, like an interview with an actor from the show. One might imagine, as another example of Shazam's potential, that a user could win coupons for a product just by tagging a particular commercial.

Fisher believes that tagging is just the beginning, and is working with advertisers to make Shazam a more immersive experience.