Algoriddim’s djay iOS app uses Shazam to recognize and sync with live music

Algoriddim has been working closely with Apple for years on its djay apps and regularly appears in the company’s keynotes. Now, it’s integrating another Apple product, Shazam, into its latest iOS djay app with the release of iOS 15. The new feature lets you can scan your surroundings and identify any song playing, whether at an event, listening to the radio or playing sets with other DJs. Once it picks out the song, djay will instantly load it onto the virtual decks and play it in sync with the external music source. 

Once loaded, you can create a mix with similar tracks, remix the song, apply effects and deconstruct it into components using the company’s Neural Mix tech. It can also save songs into iOS 15’s music recognition history in the control center, “providing users with streamlined access to all of their song discoveries,” the company said. 

While this sounds like cool technology in search of an application, Algoriddim has a few use cases in mind. The main one is that you can identify a track you might hear and get it into your library with the tap of a button, or create an automated mix based on the recognized song. “djay can instantly provide you with similar tracks to the one you just heard, allowing you to quickly immerse yourself in a particular style,” Algoriddim told Engadget. 

Another, more marginal use case is with back-to-back DJing. If you’re playing in tandem with another DJ or in a lineup, you can pick up where the last DJ left off by identifying and syncing with their song before phasing into your own set. This goes a step beyond beat matching, letting you match the last DJ’s song exactly. Mind you, many DJs may not care to replay the last DJ’s song or work with a playlist inspired by it, especially if they weren’t familiar with the tracks

The Shazam-enhanced version of iOS djay lets you save recognized music to your Tidal (music and video), SoundCloud, Beatport and Beatsource libraries (not Spotify or Apple Music). Other new features include the ability to add effects to the master audio output, enabled by new Audio Unit (extensions) features in iOS 15. That will let you better tailor the sound for broadcast or to match a PA system. Algoriddim’s iOS djay update for iOS is now available for free, or you can get the Pro version for $6.99 per month or $49.99 per year.