With faster smartphones and faster access to mobile data, music lovers find it much easier to find information about the songs they hear around them with just the press of a button in music recognition apps.
SoundHound vs Shazam is the top two contenders in this space. Shazam launched in 2002, and Apple bought it in 2018, while SoundHound arrived later in 2005, both from the United States.
History of SoundHound vs Shazam
SoundHound was established by Keyvan Mohajer, a Ph.D. student at the University of Sanford who studies speech recognition.
SoundHound was previously known as Midomi. It was renamed in 2009. The app reached 100 million users in 2012 and 300 million in 2016.
SoundHound has started working with some of the world’s largest automakers, such as Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and Honda, to provide voice interaction.
For your products, use the Houndify artificial intelligence platform. With a string of successful fundraisers, SoundHound is now worth over $1 billion.
SoundHound vs Shazam: Basic Features
The music search process is the same for both apps, with a significant audio input key for recognition.
Both services offer you details related to the song: song title, album cover, genre, and artist name.
Also, there are similar music suggestions and links to buy the piece. Both apps let you track tag history, but SoundHound has much to offer.
ES LiveLyrics contains recordings and highlights some of the texts being read.
Interface and Experience
SoundHound is winning here; the impressive graphical interface makes the user experience very attractive.
The app allows you to stream music from different platforms like YouTube and Spotify with lyrics you can sing along to.
On the other hand, Shazam is straightforward in its interface, making it easy to buy songs.
You’ll find more listings on Shazam than on SoundHound. The paid version of SoundHound is ad-free and offers additional features like a screen widget for your money.
If you are looking for live events, I suggest SoundHound. Also, the SoundHound theme is set to dark and will be compatible with phones with OLED displays.
Rates and Availability
Shazam is entirely free and ad-free advertising. SoundHound offers a free service for all users.
The paid version of SoundHound only removes ads and a few other features, such as display devices.
Both are available on iOS, Windows, and Android. Shazam integrates with Siri, so iPhone users don’t necessarily have to download the app.
SoundHound has a built-in voice subordinate called Hound that helps you play music using voice commands.
Tap on the microphone symbol on the right side of the hub’s activation bar.
Precision and Speed
After several tests to verify these music recognition apps’ accuracy and speed, I have found that SoundHound is 100% accurate and faster at recognizing songs.
But when it comes to events recordings and identifying remixes, SoundHound couldn’t keep up with Shazam.
Therefore, SoundHound’s unique “buzz” characteristic is unmatched.
You can sing a song stuck in your head from the music you’ve listened to, and SoundHound will help you recognize it.
SoundHound is more likely to identify better a song played remotely, while Shazam accurately recognizes songs amidst background noise.
Accuracy
In addition to volume recognition and voice assistant, the app allows you to create playlists to listen to your favorite artists and stream music.
Shazam has its advantages: it can be used in the background, unlike SoundHound.
The offline feature automatically informs you of songs you have tried to follow offline when you are back online.
SoundHound wants you to open the app and identify the themes on your to-do list, which you don’t necessarily have to do unless you’re really in love with the song you’re listening to.
A new feature available on Shazam Android phones from 2019 called Pop-Up Shazam allows the app to recognize and play music internally.
This means that you don’t need to turn off the Shazam plugs to hear them. Shazam and SoundHound allow users to search for global maps of Asia and India.
SoundHound obviously seems like a better app of the two, but when it came to the biggest test of all when he labeled the music, Shazam was more specific.
When he remixed Elvis Presley’s Blue Suede Shoes, Shazam identified the correct song, but SoundHound identified it as the original song.
With the live recording, Shazam correctly identified it, while SoundHound identified it as a recorded version.
Several attempts at different live songs produced the same results. Of course, when it comes to the songs recorded, both apps gave accurate results, and SoundHound identified them in most cases with a much shorter recording than Shazam.
We still prefer to use SoundHound to recognize songs for several reasons.
The main reason is that on SoundHound, you can play or sing and (hopefully) get results, while Shazam should hear the song you want to recognize.
The SoundHound implementation is especially useful when you want to learn more when a song is stuck in your head.
Because you can integrate Apple Music or Spotify with SoundHound (and Shazam), SoundHound can automatically add your tagged music to a playlist in your chosen music streaming app.
Shazam doesn’t seem to have the option to add music to his Apple Music or Spotify playlists, but he uses his music streaming account to play songs in the app.
