Shazam in Control Center: one-tap capture for DJs

Add Recognize Music to Control Center, the Lock Screen or the Action button, see where those songs are saved, and make sure they reach your list.

CatchIt! Editorial · Published

On this page
  1. Add Recognize Music to Control Center
  2. Other one-tap spots
  3. Lock Screen
  4. Action button
  5. Back Tap and Shortcuts
  6. Where Control Center identifications go
  7. Making it work in a club
  8. From one tap to one list
  9. Doing this with CatchIt!
  10. Setup checklist

Putting Shazam in Control Center means adding Apple's Recognize Music control: open Control Center, tap the Add Controls (+) button at the top, tap Add a Control and choose Recognize Music. From then on, identifying a track is a swipe and a tap from any screen, with no app to find first. For a DJ standing in a loud room, that speed matters more than any other setting. The rest of this guide covers the other one-tap spots (Lock Screen, Action button, Back Tap) and the part people skip: making sure those identifications end up somewhere you'll actually check.

Add Recognize Music to Control Center

The steps come from Apple's support page on identifying songs:

  1. Open Control Center. On an iPhone with Face ID, swipe down from the top-right corner. On an iPhone with a Home button, swipe up from the bottom.
  2. Tap the Add Controls (+) button at the top of the screen.
  3. Tap Add a Control, then choose Recognize Music. You can also search the controls gallery for it.
  4. Drag the control where your thumb lands first. Apple's Control Center page explains that you can rearrange controls, resize them and add new groups.

To identify a song, open Control Center and tap the button. Apple describes the control as a way to "Find out what song is playing nearby or on your iPhone with Shazam." The "on your iPhone" part is handy at home too: it works on audio playing from another app.

On iPad the steps are the same. On a Mac, Apple's page says you add Recognize Music from Control Center's Edit Controls window (it sits under Sounds) and can drag it to the menu bar.

Other one-tap spots

Control Center is one swipe away. A few other places can be even quicker, depending on your phone.

SpotHow to set it upGood for
Control CenterAdd a Control › Recognize MusicEvery iPhone and iPad that has the control
Lock Screen controlsCustomize the Lock Screen and swap one of the bottom controlsIdentifying before you open the phone
Action buttonSettings › Action Button › Recognize MusiciPhone models with an Action button
Back TapSettings › Accessibility › Touch › Back Tap, run a Shazam shortcutA double or triple tap on the back of the phone
SiriAsk "what is this song"Hands busy, such as when driving

Lock Screen

Apple's Lock Screen guide says you can swap the controls at the bottom of the Lock Screen (the flashlight is its example): touch and hold the Lock Screen, tap Customize, tap a control, and replace it from the controls gallery. If Recognize Music shows up in that gallery on your iOS version, it's a sensible pick for nights out, because you won't need to open the phone or swipe at all.

Action button

On iPhones that have one, the Action button replaces the old Ring/Silent switch. Apple's Action button page lists Recognize Music among the actions: go to Settings, tap Action Button and swipe until it appears. Press and hold the button to identify a track. This is the most physical option, and you can do it by feel with the phone half out of a pocket.

Back Tap and Shortcuts

Apple's Shazam guide describes a Shortcuts route. Open the Shortcuts app, tap Gallery, search for "Shazam" and add one of Apple's shortcuts. Then go to Settings › Accessibility › Touch › Back Tap, choose Double Tap or Triple Tap and pick that shortcut. Apple notes that only shortcuts in your collection appear in that list. Back Tap can fire by accident when the phone knocks against something, so test it before relying on it.

Where Control Center identifications go

This is where one-tap capture usually falls apart. Apple's support page says that to see songs you've identified, you touch and hold the Recognize Music button and tap History. "If you have the Shazam app installed on your device, the Shazam app Library opens."

Whether those songs actually reach the Shazam app's library is a separate question. Apple's Shazam guide says songs identified with Control Center, Siri and Shortcuts sync to the app's library when your iCloud and Shazam settings are configured. Check two settings:

  1. In the Shazam app, open settings and turn on iCloud Sync. The Shazam guide says it backs up your identified songs to iCloud so you can reach them on your other Apple devices.
  2. In iPhone Settings, tap your name, then iCloud, then See All next to Saved to iCloud. Check that Music Recognition is switched on, plus Shazam if you use the app.

If your history still looks thin, Shazam history not showing works through the usual causes, including two Apple Accounts on different devices.

Making it work in a club

A fast button doesn't help if you use it badly. A few habits make one-tap capture more reliable:

  • Set it up at home. Find the control, move it to a corner you can reach without looking, and test it on a track playing from a speaker. Doing this for the first time in a dark room is a waste of a good track.
  • Tap early in the track. Recognition needs a clean stretch of one record. If two tracks are blending, wait for the incoming one to take over. Our guide to whether Shazam can identify live music explains what helps and what doesn't.
  • Expect misses on unreleased music. Edits, dubplates and promos may not be in Shazam's catalogue yet. When recognition fails, note the time, the DJ and the venue so you can check a tracklist later.
  • Don't scroll results on the floor. Tap, put the phone away, and review the history the next day. Judging tracks happens later, on proper headphones.

From one tap to one list

One-tap capture solves the speed problem. It doesn't solve the list problem. Recognize Music history, the Shazam Library, a Spotify playlist and the screenshots in your camera roll can each hold a few of your finds, and the on-the-go guide explains why spreading them out is how tracks get lost. The pillar guide on keeping track of every track you hear shows how to route every capture into one destination you clear each week.

Doing this with CatchIt!

CatchIt! is a Mac app with a free iOS companion. Its version of one-tap capture is a Shortcut that pairs Apple's Recognize Music action with CatchIt!'s Add to CatchIt! action, so the identification goes straight into your CatchIt! list instead of only into Apple's history.

  • Install it from the Mac. The Mac app's Settings › iOS & Shortcuts screen walks you through installing the iOS app and a ready-made Shortcut, with a Control Center guide.
  • Pin it where you like. The Shortcut can sit on the Home Screen or the Lock Screen, or as a Control Center tile.
  • Or use the app. The iOS app also has its own Shazam button, and its Shazams tab lists what you've captured, with search and sort.
  • Review on the Mac. Captures arrive in the Mac's Inbox under Mobile Shazams, where Return keeps a track and Space rejects it. If the club has no signal, captures queue on the phone and upload later.

See Capturing tracks for the setup and Getting started for the first run.

Setup checklist

  1. Put Recognize Music in Control Center, within thumb reach.
  2. Add it to the Lock Screen or Action button if your phone allows.
  3. Turn on iCloud Sync in the Shazam app and Music Recognition under Saved to iCloud.
  4. Test it on a speaker before a night out.
  5. Review your history the next day and move keepers into one list.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need the Shazam app to use Recognize Music in Control Center?
No. Apple's support page treats Recognize Music as a built-in control. Without the Shazam app, results stay in the control's own history, which you open by touching and holding the button. With the app installed, that history opens the Shazam Library.
Why don't my Control Center songs appear in the Shazam app?
Apple's Shazam guide says they sync to the app's library only when your iCloud and Shazam settings are correct. Check that iCloud Sync is on in the Shazam app's settings and that Music Recognition is on under Saved to iCloud in your Apple Account settings.
Can I put Recognize Music on the Action button?
On iPhone models with an Action button, Apple lists Recognize Music as one of the actions you can assign in Settings › Action Button. Press and hold the button to run it.
Is Control Center or the Shazam app better in a club?
Control Center is faster to reach because you don't have to find and open an app. The Shazam app adds Auto Shazam and its own library. A practical setup is the control for speed and the app for browsing results later.

Sources

  1. Apple Support: Use your Apple device to identify what song is playing
  2. Apple Support: Use and customize Control Center on iPhone
  3. iPhone User Guide: Create a custom iPhone Lock Screen
  4. iPhone User Guide: Use and customize the Action button on iPhone
  5. Shazam User Guide: Identify a song using the Shortcuts app on Apple devices
  6. Shazam User Guide: Modify Shazam app settings on iPhone or iPad
  7. Shazam User Guide: Sync songs to the Shazam app using Control Center, Siri, and more