At times I'm greeted by some very foul music. Foul to the point where I find myself ejecting the CD from my car's stereo. Next I lightly "sand" the offensive CD against the garage floor (ensuring it becomes unusable) before returning the CD to it's jacket. Then I'll leave a little note, expressing my displeasure and disappointment over my daughter's choice of music 🙁
But this morning, as I drove to my 5:45 class, was very different! "I really like this... I wonder who it is?" Ejecting the CD provided no clue as there wasn't anything written on it. A quick text to daughter Carly returned; "IDK - marley left it Shazam it."
Answered my question in 10 seconds
Shazam is a free smart phone App (iPhone and Droids) that will listen to a song playing and tell you the name, artist and give you the option to purchase the song from iTunes. There's also a little play button that you can use to listen to the iTunes sample to confirm Shazam correctly identified the song - which by my estimation is always correct.
With your device connected to a wireless system go to the App store and download Shazam. It's free and the basic functionality is all most people will need; turn it on, hit the center button, Shazam listens and gives you the song info.
Spotify Premium subscribers, may want to upgrade to Encore for $3.99 a year. Encore give you the option to Tag tracks you've identified and play them or create Artist Stations, using Spotify or Pandora on your device. I tried to purchase the upgrade. After correctly entering my Apple ID a half dozen times and reconfirming my payment details, everything failed... I didn't try again 🙁
As with many other Apps, they will try and take over your life... if you let them. When you first install the App you'll be asked to approve "Push Notifications" which allow Shazam to alert you to something they feel is really important. My personal choice is to turn these OFF.
Minimize distractions by turning all these off!
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John is a member on the AFS (Association of Fitness Studios) Advisory Council.
Holding certifications from; Schwinn, Heart Zones, Team ICG and Life Time Fitness, John's held regularly scheduled cycling classes between 1998 and 2015 when he moved to Florida.
When the weather permits, you'll find him riding and leading outdoor groups by himself or with his Tandem partner (wife) Amy.
Summing it all up John, this is what I’m reading. For finding the name and artist of a song Shazam is cool & free if, you have your smart phone in the right place at the right time. The value added options, not worth the hassle.