SoundHound or Shazam?
So we just posted that 30 second clip for the Nexus S with that ridiculously-catchy song. Many of you stated you wanted the song, and while I won’t be the person to give it to you, I figured you might want to know the name of it. I wanted to know the name of it too. I then remembered Shazam existed.
I downloaded the app and expected to get the name of the song right away and without fail. Quickly, disappointment fell upon me. I turned the volume up to 90, down to 30, I put the phone upside down, turned it inside out. I played different parts of the song to see if one part would be more recognizable than the other (the vocals tend to be the best parts to sample from.) No dice. I then wondered how popular this song was. Considering I didn’t know it, I almost chalked it up to it being an original track Google had made for the various YouTube videos strewn about the Nexus S page.
But I remembered that there were other options: SoundHound. “Why not?” I say. The application can even pick up what song you’re humming, so I figure it must be able to identify this track if it is indeed at least a tiny bit popular. And it did without fail. This isn’t meant to be negative publicity for Shazam, but I just wanted to ask: which do you use? Does it work well enough for you to not consider switching to the other? Do Shazam or SoundHound justify their cost of admission for the premium features offered by each service? Is there another service you’d suggest?
Just a quick break from the action. Sound off below!
PS: For those who were curious, the name of the song is “Allo Allo (Hello I Love You)” by Les Sans Culottes. Album is Fixation Orale.