Shazam adds videos, lyrics and more in major redesign

Shazam unveiled its major app redesign this morning putting the music identification service in line with streaming services and music discovery apps.

Similar to free Apple store apps like Discovr Music and Band of the Day, Shazam’s update aims to evolve the user experience for music and television results (nearly 40% of Auto Shazam matches have been for TV).

The redesign, which began its launch earlier this month and is currently rolling out globally, offers users easy access to previewing, buying, and sharing a track.

Upcoming additions for Shazam’s iOS and Android users will be rolled out in the coming weeks; these include access to lyrics with a preview when a match is found, links to music videos relating to the track, biographies and discographies, listening recommendations and access to information about broadcast programmes.

While Shazam has been partners with streaming service Spotify for two years, CNBC spoke to the global head of Telco Partnerships at Spotify Michael Abbatista, who said Shazam’s redesign was “just another way to find music through Spotify.”

Rich Riley, Chief Executive Officer at Shazam said in a statement: “The redesign we’re unveiling today is part of a fundamental evolution in our consumer experience. With these changes, Shazam is evolving to become a destination experience and content platform for artists, shows and brands.”

Last year Shazam began its overhaul with the launch of a News Feed feature, which presents users with content from artists, shows, and friends’ Shazam discoveries as well as the optional Auto Shazam, where the app listens for audio that it can tag and notify users of.

“People will always be able to use Shazam in the way they know and love – to identify almost any song amazingly fast and purchase or share that song,” continues Riley. “Shazam’s new content-rich design, coupled with the recently launched News Feed and the effortlessness of Auto Shazam [launched in October and December respectively], give users powerful reasons to spend a lot more time with Shazam and to use it every day.”

Last week, Shazam and Warner Group launched a branded imprint in an alliance that saw the two companies use Shazam’s user-data to discover and sign acts. You can read more about the partnership here.