How Do Shazams Affect My Apple Music Growth and Playlist Chances?

Apple Music : https://music.apple.com/us/artist/stephen-allen-music/1092692557

 Why Shazams Are Powerful for Growth

  • Tells Apple that real people are discovering and liking your song
  • Increases your chances of being added to Apple editorial playlists
  • Drives new listeners to your Apple Music page
  • Affects your ranking on Shazam Charts, which are monitored by curators


 How Shazams Help With Playlists

Impact Area

Shazam Benefit

Editorial Playlists

High Shazams can trigger attention from Apple editors

Algorithmic Boost

More Shazams = higher priority in “Listen Now” suggestions

Genre Charts

Trending on Shazam can place you in global/regional charts

Discovery Pages

Increases likelihood of being featured in discovery areas



 How to Increase Shazams for Your Music

  1. Perform or play your music in public
    • Clubs, DJ sets, radio shows, YouTube videos, etc.
  2. Use your song in viral social content
    • TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts are huge sources of Shazams
  3. Encourage Fans to Shazam It
    • Ask them to "Shazam "
  4. Submit to Influencers & DJ Pools
    • When your music is played in curated spaces, Shazams spike
  5. Track Shazam Data in Apple Music for Artists
    • Identify cities or countries where the song is buzzing


 Don’t Do This

  • Don’t use fake Shazam generators or bots—it can hurt your credibility
  • Don’t ignore Shazam stats—if a city is blowing up, promote harder there
  • Don’t assume Shazams equal streams—connect it to a call-to-action


 Pro Tip:

If your track gets a big Shazam spike, pitch it again to Apple Music editors (via your distributor or manager). Use the data to build your case.

Back to blog