Apple preparing song-identification feature for iOS update, say sources

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple wants to help you identify that tune.

The company is planning to unveil a song-discovery feature in an update of its iOS mobile software that will let users identify a song and its artiste using an iPhone or iPad, said two sources with knowledge of the product. Apple is partnering Shazam Entertainment, whose technology can quickly find out what is playing by collecting sound from a phone’s microphone and matching it against a song database.

Apple is bolstering its music offerings even though song-download sales have slowed across the industry. While the company is the world’s largest music seller through its iTunes store, customers are listening more to Internet services such as Spotify, Pandora Media and Google’s YouTube. Last year, Apple introduced its own streaming service, iTunes Radio, which it plans to expand outside the United States this year, sources have said.

Apple is set to give a preview of the latest update of its mobile software, called iOS 8, at its annual developer conference that kicks off on June 2 in San Francisco.

The song-identification feature will be integrated into the mobile software in the same way that Twitter’s service is currently incorporated, meaning consumers do not need to separately download it. Among the ways it can be used will be through Apple’s voice-activated search feature, Siri. An iPhone user will be able to say something such as “what song is playing” to find out the tune’s details.

The song-matching feature could boost Shazam, whose app was an early hit and has steered millions of song downloads through iTunes. The company, with more than 90 million monthly users, has been weighing an initial public offering, Shazam Chief Executive Officer Rich Riley has said.

Music is a key part of Apple’s history, with the iPod music player igniting the company’s growth more than a decade ago. While the iPhone and iPad are now more important to its business, the company continues to add new features around music.

Apple had 63 per cent of the paid digital download market, research firm NPD Group said last year. Download sales fell last year for the first since the iTunes store debuted, said Nielsen SoundScan, an information and sales tracking system.

Apple has been exploring other ways to enhance iTunes Radio, which competes with Pandora. It is preparing to make the advertising-supported service available in more countries, one person said. In contrast, Pandora is only available in the US because of the limitations of the licensing agreements it has with music companies.

Apple has also been mulling over making iTunes Radio a standalone app instead of including it as a feature inside the iTunes store, one source said. A final decision has not been made.

While song downloads have slowed, Apple has tried to boost purchases by asking music companies to give iTunes earlier access to their newest music. In exchange, Apple would agree to sell an entire album, which costs more, rather than only individual songs until the CD is released, sources said.

Apple has also been exploring whether to release a subscription music service that would compete more directly with Spotify, Rdio and Beats Music. Apple has built the service internally, but has held off on releasing it to avoid slowing download sales, a source said. BLOOMBERG