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Apple said to partner with Shazam on song-ID tool for iOS

The Cupertino, Calif., electronics maker plans to release a feature in iOS 8 that identifies a song and its artist via an iPhone or iPad, Bloomberg reports.

Shara Tibken Former managing editor
Shara Tibken was a managing editor at CNET News, overseeing a team covering tech policy, EU tech, mobile and the digital divide. She previously covered mobile as a senior reporter at CNET and also wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. Shara is a native Midwesterner who still prefers "pop" over "soda."
Shara Tibken

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Shazam may be partnering with Apple on a song-identifying feature for iOS. Shazam

Siri may soon be able to tell you what song is playing.

Apple plans to update its iOS mobile operating software with a feature that identifies the title and artist of a song, according to a report from Bloomberg. The Cupertino, Calif., electronics maker will partner with music-ID app maker Shazam to release the program with iOS 8, the publication said.

The feature will be integrated similar to the way Twitter appears on iPhones and iPads, Bloomberg said, so users won't have to download it. Users also will be able to access the capabilities through Apple's digital voice assistant, Siri, the publication reported.

iTunes has been an important business for Apple since it first launched the software. The company generates millions of dollars each year selling songs and albums in the store. However, people have started spending less money on music downloads, preferring instead to stream music from Web-based services such as Spotify and Pandora. Apple launched its own radio service last year as part of iOS 7. The company will show off iOS 8 at its developer conference that starts June 2.

Integrating song search with Siri would follow what Google and Microsoft have already done with their digital voice assistants. Windows Phone includes a Shazam-like music ID tool with its Cortana voice assistant, while Google Now includes the same capability.

An Apple representative declined to comment on the report.