Apple rumored to include song identification feature in iOS 8

Can’t name that tune? No worry: Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is partnering with Shazam to embed song identification software right into its forthcoming iOS 8. The news agency reports that two of its sources believe Apple is “planning to unveil a song-discovery feature in an update of its iOS mobile software that will let users identify a song and its artist using an iPhone or iPad.” Obviously Shazam has been doing that forever, but it seems that Apple is teaming up with the guys behind the app.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) wants to help you name that tune. The company is planning to unveil a song-discovery feature in an update of its iOS mobile software that will let users identify a song and its artist using an iPhone or iPad, said two people with knowledge of the product, who asked not to be identified because the feature isn’t public. Apple is partnering with Shazam Entertainment Ltd., whose technology can quickly spot what’s playing by collecting sound from a phone’s microphone and matching it against a song database. Apple is bolstering its music offerings even as song-download sales have slowed across the industry. While the Cupertino, California-based company is the world’s largest music seller through its iTunes store, customers are listening more to Internet services like Google Inc.’s YouTube, Spotify Ltd. and Pandora Media Inc. (P) Apple last year introduced its own streaming service, iTunes Radio, which it plans to expand outside the U.S. this year, people with knowledge of the plans said.