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in my experience a/b testing shazam just has a way, way bigger database. It would easily identify really obscure stuff like 1970s Arabic psych rock or disco even if it wasn't even available in US online stores, and wasn't ever sold here. Same goes for gracenote, and the other systems that tried the same shtick

the database is the golden goose here, not the algorithm. it's similar to what made grooveshark more fun than spotify

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But then Apple already Has the Data, Apple Music and iTunes Store.

This is the Tech vs Data question, it seems people value Data a lot more.

You underestimate the world of music that isn't available via iTunes, Apple Music or Spotify. It's huge. While Shazam is far from perfect for obscure music, it surprised me at times and iTunes or streaming services aren't even close.

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