Years ago, Apple acquired Shazam and the music recognition service is increasingly appearing in the Apple System. For example, Siri can recognize music and you can also use Shazam in the control panel for iOS and iPadOS. New is music recognition for macOS.
Just like on an iPhone or iPad, you can identify music directly from the Mac Control Center and macOS will listen for the audio that’s playing. You can use this when there’s music playing nearby, but also when you’re listening to music yourself via AirPods, earbuds, headsets or headphones.
Add Shazam to macOS
Since macOS Sonoma version 14.2, you can access music recognition directly from the menu bar or control panel. Follow the steps below to enable it.
- Open System Settings on your Mac
- Navigate to ‘Control Panel’
- Scroll down to ‘Music Recognition’
- Enable the ‘Show in Control Panel’ option
- Optionally, you can also enable the ‘Show in menu bar’ option
Using Music Recognition on a Mac
Once you’ve enabled the option, you can use Shazam directly from the menu bar or Control Center. Open the Control Center on your Mac and click the Shazam button under “Music Recognition.” macOS will immediately listen and report what song is playing. You can review the results and optionally add them to Apple Music.
If you’ve added Shazam to your menu bar, you can immediately click the Shazam button to start listening.
Recognize music via headset and headphones
You can use music recognition not only when music is playing in the environment, but also when you are listening to music yourself via AirPods, earphones, headset or headphones. Maybe you are listening to a podcast or the radio, and you do not know which song is playing, then you can use Shazam and it will analyze the music that is playing on the headset or headphones. You will then see via a notification which song you are listening to.