| Cult of Mac

Just how ‘far out’ will Apple’s Sept. 7 event be? [The CultCast]

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The CultCast podast: Are we going to get a big bang out of Apple's September 7 event?
Are we going to get a big bang out of Apple's September 7 event?
Image: Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: What does Apple’s star-studded September 7 event invite mean? Some of the speculation is pretty “far out,” but Erfon thinks he has the answer.

Also on The CultCast:

  • The M2 MacBook Air humiliates a pricier Dell laptop.
  • Shazam still works like magic (and somehow Apple didn’t screw it up).
  • Zombie cinema-subscription service MoviePass is coming back from the dead!
  • Don’t miss Best Buy’s killer freebie: three months of Apple TV+, for new and returning subscribers.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

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After 20 years, what’s the most ‘Shazamed’ song of all time?

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Shazam, owned by Apple since 2018, turned 20 on Friday.
Shazam, owned by Apple since 2018, turned 20 on Friday.
Photo: Apple

Apple bought the popular music-recognition app Shazam, which can name any song you hear, in 2018. Friday marks the app’s 20th birthday. And this week it officially surpassed 70 billion song recognitions, Cupertino said.

That’s a lot of people in bars wondering what the tune is.

Ever wonder what song is the most “Shazamed” of all time? Well, Apple provided that nugget and many other factoids, and referred to a lot of interesting music you may want to check out.

Apple’s Shazam app adds detailed concert and ticket info

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Apple's Shazam app has added detailed concert and ticket notes to help artists.
Apple's Shazam app has added detailed concert and ticket notes to help artists.
Photo: Shazam

You may know the Shazam app, owned by Apple, for its ability to recognize songs and artists. But a new update to the app for iOS now also helps you “explore upcoming live music shows.” This comes from a Shazam integration with Bandsintown. Apple and Shazam said the new feature will help increase exposure for artists.

Shazam offers up to 5 months of free Apple Music

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Apple acquisition meant that Shazam turned a profit in 2018
Sign up before January 31, 2022.
Photo: Apple

If you’re yet to try out Apple Music, now’s your chance. Shazam is offering five months of free and unlimited access to new subscribers who sign up before January 31, 2022. Some existing subscribers can get two months free.

You’ll need to use your iPhone (or an Android smartphone if that’s what you’re into) to redeem the offer.

Identify any song in an instant using Control Center [Pro tip]

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Identify a song with Control Center
And follow along with real-time lyrics.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Control Center Pro Tips WeekWe want to help you master Control Center, one of the most powerful and underutilized features on Apple devices. Cult of Mac’s Control Center Pro Tips series will show you how to make the most of this useful toolbox on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac.

When you’re listening to a song you dig, but you have no idea of its name or the artist who recorded it, you can use Control Center on your iPhone or iPad to identify the track in an instant.

It’s the simplest way to invoke Shazam, the powerful music-recognition tool built into iOS, aside from asking Siri to name that tune (which you probably don’t want to do in certain situations). We’ll show you how.

Use Shazam on Dolly Parton’s 5 to 9 ad to get 5 free months of Apple Music

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Listen to Dolly Parton in ‘5 to 9’ for 5 free months of Apple Music.
A new version of Dolly Parton’s 5 to 9 gets you an extra-long Apple Music trial.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple turned to country music legend Dolly Parton, Squarespace and the Super Bowl to promote Shazam and a new deal on Cupertino’s streaming music service.

You can use Shazam when listening to Parton’s just-released 5 to 9 advertisement to get five free months of Apple Music. That’s two months more than the usual offer.

Golden master means iOS 14.2 — with new emoji and Shazam — is almost here

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The iOS 14.2 golden master, along with the iPadOS equivalent, is available to developers.
iOS 14.2 is almost here! It’ll bring loads of new emoji and Shazam integration.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple on Friday gave developers access to iOS 14.2 golden master, along with the iPadOS equivalent. This is the last step before releasing these new versions to the public.

When available to all, iOS 14.2 will offer plenty of fun new emoji, as well as Shazam music recognition integrated into the Control Center.

iOS 14.2 public beta integrates Shazam music recognition into iPhone [Updated]

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Well, iOS 14.2 beta q didn’t take long
iPadOS 14 and the iPhone equivalent just went out, but Apple is already testing iPadOS 14.2.

Anyone can start testing iOS 14.2, along with the iPad equivalent, thanks to the new public betas released Monday by Apple.

The first developer beta of iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2 went out Thursday, just a day after the full release of iOS 14. The most notable new feature in the new betas builds the Shazam music-recognition service into the Control Center.

It’s not clear what’s happening with iOS 14.1, but it isn’t part of Apple’s testing program for developers.

Apple Music finally available inside Shazam on Android

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Apple-Music-Shazam-Android
Grab the latest update to get started.
Photo: Android Police

Shazam is finally offering Apple Music integration on Android, almost two years after the music identification service was acquired by Apple.

Users have the ability to identify songs and enjoy full versions of them using their Apple Music subscription. The feature comes with a beta tag for now, but works just as you would expect.

Apple Music offers up to 6 months of free music for the holidays

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Streaming services like Apple Music dominate the US music market
And it's open to existing subscribers, too!
Photo: Apple

Apple Music’s standard free trial offer is a generous 90 days. But, for the holidays, someone in Cupertino has decided to double this.

By using the Shazam app, would-be Apple Music subscribers can get a total of 6 months Apple Music for free. And you can even get some free months it if you’re currently, or have previously been, an Apple Music subscriber.