In macOS Sonoma 14.2, Apple included some additional controls for Shazam music recognition, which is now baked into the Mac operating system more than ever. Here's how to add the functionality to your Mac's menu bar and Control Center.

shazam for mac
For those unfamiliar with Shazam, it's an Apple-owned popular service that can identify the names and lyrics of songs, music videos, TV shows, and more, simply by listening to and deciphering whatever is playing.

After years of ‌‌Siri‌‌ integration, Apple acquired Shazam in 2018, and integrated it into iOS and iPadOS as a system-level song recognition function. With macOS 14.2, the same level of integration has finally come to Mac.
shazam

Previously, the Shazam app for macOS was necessary to add Shazam to your Mac's menu bar, or you could ask Siri to identify a song. Now there are two other ways to access Shazam that are built-in to the system.

The Shazam menu bar item and the Control Center button can be used to prompt Shazam to start listening to the currently playing song. The dropdown menu also includes a history of any songs you previously have identified using the feature.

To open a song in Shazam on the web, click its title. To open the song in the Music app, click the music icon. To delete an entry, click the trash icon and choose Delete Song to confirm the operation. This will delete the song from your Shazam history across all devices with the Music Recognition option enabled in iCloud's sync settings.

How to Add Shazam to You Mac's Menu Bar

  1. Click the Apple symbol in your Mac's menu bar and select System Settings....
  2. Select Control Center in the side column.
  3. In the Music Recognition section, toggle on the switches next to Show in Menu Bar and/or Show in Control Center.

shazam

Don't forget that on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, HomePod, and Mac, you can ask Siri what song is playing, and the result of these requests will also appear in your Music Recognition listening history.

Tag: Shazam

Top Rated Comments

a m u n Avatar
16 months ago
Shazam is one of the best apps and one of Apple’s best acquisitions, especially given its seamless integration with Apple Music.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arkitect Avatar
16 months ago
Well that is a handy tip.
I did not even know this was available.

I'll never miss a tune again… Watch, iPhone, Mac…

Thanks.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
randyhudson Avatar
16 months ago
With all the information Apple have about what music people are listening to, it's shocking how bad Apple Music is.

I'll create a station from a song and 12 songs later it's already repeating.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ComRadMac Avatar
16 months ago
I can't imagine too many situations in which you're listening to music on your computer and it's giving you no information on what that song is. TV shows maybe?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Flamingdeathbolts Avatar
16 months ago

Shazam is one of the best apps and one of Apple’s best acquisitions, especially given its seamless integration with Apple Music.
Didn’t know Shazam is owned by Apple. For sure going to get it on my phone now. Soundhound has left me dissatisfied lately as they don’t update frequently enough with new songs.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
philstubbington Avatar
16 months ago

Will it show a synced list on the Mac of all the Shazams that you have on your phone? Not ready yet to install Sonoma, but curious. Before (with the macOS Shazam app) nothing was ever synced, even though the settings for iCloud were set.
Seems so. It took a good few seconds to retrieve my list on my Mac, but it’s there :)

There’s a iCloud Sync option on the iPhone app, so I guess that’s where it comes from.

4236 songs showing on my iPhone and same on the Mac.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

cook trump

Trump Responds to Apple Keeping Diversity Policies

Wednesday February 26, 2025 6:32 am PST by
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017 "APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote. Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.4 Will Be Released in April With These New Features

Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April. From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
iPhone Fold Vertical Feature

Apple's 2026 Foldable iPhone Has No Visible Display Crease – Report

Tuesday February 25, 2025 2:58 am PST by
Apple is making significant headway on its long-rumored foldable iPhone, with a new report suggesting the company has achieved a major breakthrough by effectively eliminating the screen crease that plagues current foldable devices. According to Korean publication ETNews, Apple is finalizing its component suppliers for the foldable iPhone, with the selection process expected to be completed...
trump iphone dictation issue

Apple Fixing 'Trump' Dictation Processing Bug

Tuesday February 25, 2025 1:18 pm PST by
Multiple iPhone owners today noticed a pronunciation processing issue that causes the word "Trump" to momentarily show up when using dictation to send a message with the word "racist." In some cases, when speaking the word racist through the iPhone's built-in dictation feature, the iPhone briefly interprets the spoken word as "Trump" and "Trump" text shows up in the Messages app before being ...
airtag orange

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch in May or June With These New Features

Monday February 24, 2025 6:11 am PST by
Apple plans to launch a second-generation AirTag in May or June this year, according to a post today from a leaker known as Kosutami. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that a new AirTag would be released in mid-2025. May or June would align with that timeframe. Below, we recap three new features rumored for the AirTag 2: With a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, the...
airpods pro purple

Here's When AirPods Pro 3 Are Rumored to Launch

Monday February 24, 2025 9:14 am PST by
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year. The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time. Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
ios 18 4 carplay

iOS 18.4 Includes a Small But Useful Change for CarPlay

Sunday February 23, 2025 2:23 pm PST by
The first beta of iOS 18.4 is now available, and it includes a small but useful change for CarPlay. As we noted in our list of iOS 18.4 features, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra, which can be equipped...