Eter: Streaming Internet Radio now includes Shazam song recognition. Read on to learn what Shazam is, how it works in Eter, how to turn it off if it’s not your thing and more.
What is Shazam?
Shazam is an ambient music recognition service that listens to what’s playing and identifies track details. It’s like having a super savvy music buff friend always there to ask “What’s this song?” or “Who sings it?”. This amazing audio search algorithm was originally created by Chris Barton and Philip Inghelbrecht, then graduate students at University of California Berkeley, in 1999. Eight years later, Apple acquired the technology, bringing Shazam in house and integrating it into Siri in iOS8. Hey Siri, what’s playing?
How Does Shazam Work in Eter?
Eter displays song title and artist using the track information sent in the currently playing station stream. Not all stations provide this information, and some that do provide it do so in an unusual format, making it difficult for Eter to format. Using Shazam, Eter can listen to a stream and learn which song metadata to display. Neither relying on stream metadata nor Shazam is perfect, but Shazam is generally better, which is why it’s turned on by default.
When you first use Shazam in Eter, you’ll be asked for permission to let Eter access the microphone. This lets Shazam hear the music, so please select Allow.
On Mac, you’ll see an orange microphone icon in the menu bar indicating the microphone is in use, in this case by Eter, redirecting the stream to Shazam to learn what’s playing. On iOS, active microphone use is indicated by a small orange dot in the upper right corner of the screen. Note that Shazam doesn’t actually listen to the microphone on the device, only to the audio stream from the app. But Shazam requires microphone access to function, which is why it’s requested.
Tip: Ever come across a song you like that you want to hear again? Just tap or click on the song art in Eter’s player view to open it in Apple Music.
How to Turn Off Shazam in Eter
You can switch off Shazam from any station’s player view. This disables Shazam for just that station. By default, Shazam is enabled on every station.
You can turn off Shazam for a Recommended station but the next time you select that station, Shazam will be re-enabled (and you can again disable it if you so wish). Stations you play directly from search work this way too. If you want to be able to save a station’s Shazam setting, select the heart to add it to My Stations. Note that saving favorites is a premium feature, along with lots more, including setting a sleep timer, looking back at your listening history, and supporting the continued development of Eter. Unlock all premium features with a single one-time purchase of just $8.99.
Using connected hearing aids?
Some users report problems with Eter when using hearing aids. We suspect the issue relates to both Eter and the hearing aids attempting to redirect the streaming audio. Thank you to those who wrote into support about this; we’re continuing to investigate.
Excited about Eter and want to chat? Have a feature request? Come on over to our Discourse forum! Do you think you might have found a bug that needs squishing? Email us at support@apparentsoft.com
Ready to explore the world of Eter? Available on all Apple devices including CarPlay, immerse yourself in seamless radio streaming with Eter 2.0. For more information and to discover all that Eter has to offer, visit our website.
Eter: Streaming Internet Radio
