I don’t about you, but I can still remember the first time I used Shazam. At the time—in the days before Siri and Alexa and Cortana—it was one of the first times that I can remember technology effectively replicating something heretofore uniquely human: the ability to listen to—and recognize—a song. Shazam, indeed. And now, Portland startup Vadio is helping make that experience even more magical by not only identifying the song but also showing you the video associated with it.
And people are taking notice.
Techcrunch: Shazam rolls out in-app music video channels with Vadio
Song identifying app Shazam is rolling out music video channels to all of its 120 million monthly active users in a partnership with Vadio, a Portland-based startup. Through their partnership, whenever a user taps on the Shazam icon to identify a song, a thumbnail of the official music video for that track will display on the song’s Shazam page.
Digital Trends: New Shazam feature lets users play music videos for identified songs
Previously, when Shazam would ID a song, the user would be presented with the option to listen to the song via Spotify or Apple Music, or to purchase it via iTunes. Now, if a video is found to be associated with the song, the user will see the video instead, though they will still have to tap it to play, so there is no need to worry about auto-playing the wrong song.
VentureBeat: Shazam launches in-app music video channels to drive engagement and revenue
Shazam’s music video channels can be actioned in a number of ways. For example, if someone “Shazams” a song, they may see a relevant video. Channels can also be curated by editors, generated automatically based on trending data, or created by brands wishing to align themselves with genres — and this hints at a major potential monetization conduit for Shazam.
Engadget: Shazam adds in-app music video channels
You still probably got Shazam pegged as the app to launch when you want to ID a song. And it still does that, expect it now also comes with a bunch of extra features. The latest addition to its offerings? Videos, thanks to its partnership with music video platform Vadio. Now, when you ID a song, a curated music video channel will pop up that you can play within the application itself. It’s not clear at this point whether you’ll get something relevant to the song you Shazamed or something completely random.
Mashable: Shazam adds music video playlists
The addition of video playlists Thursday is part of an integration with the video tech company Vadio. Right now, a Shazam result prompts the user to open other apps, Apple Music and Spotify in particular. Videos linked to song results through Vadio will instead keep listeners in Shazam.
Hypebot: Shazam Adds Music Videos Via Vadio Partnership
Shazam is adding music videos in a partnership with Portland based startup Vadio. When a user taps on the Shazam icon to identify a song, a thumbnail of the official music video for that track has been added to the song’s Shazam page.
Musically: Shazam strikes Vadio partnership for music-video channels
The Vadio deal expands on that functionality though: it has quietly rolled out to more than 30 million users already, and according to Vadio it has helped boost the average time people spend in Shazam’s app to more than four minutes – obviously, the other new features are factors in this too.
Talking New Media: Shazam partners with music video platform Vadio to bring music video channels to service
With this partnership, Shazam is extending the opportunity to engage audiences in more than 190 countries with highly engaging videos of the latest artists and popular music from around the world. Currently, there are over 1,800 artists verified on Shazam that are sharing content with their over 3 billion cumulative followers. The addition of music video playlists powered by Vadio makes it possible for brands to connect audiences through content that is relevant, targeted and highly engaging.
Music Week: Shazam teams up with Vadio to add music video channels
“We continually look for new ways to expand the ways in which our users can discover music,” said Fabio Santini, chief product officer for Shazam. “We want to give fans a great reason to spend more time with Shazam by giving them access to a rich and immersive music video experience. In turn, this creates new revenue opportunities for artists and, moreover, powerful ways of gaining exposure for brands.”
[Full disclosure: Vadio is a PIE alum. I am the cofounder and general manager of PIE.]
