Shazam, the app listeners turn to when they figure out what song their listening to, has added advertisement and movie trailer audio to its database in order to increase ad revenue. The service is also aiming to take the mobile app to the next level with the addition of a physical scanner.
The Shazam app now has access to your mobile device's camera. Users now have the ability to scan physical products that have the Shazam logo on it in order to find out more.
While this sounds impressive, Gizmodo notes that the visual version of Shazam is technically nothing more than a glorified QR code scanner.
Currently, most "Shazamable" objects just send the user a link to advertising content, though one scannable Esquire Magazine cover had exclusive footage of Jason Statham during a photo shoot. This isn't surprising, since visual Shazam is pretty new and advertisers just started experimenting with it. It's unclear how different a visual Shazam will be from QR code scanners or if it will become a common practice among advertisers. After all, QR codes are a cool idea, but very few people use them. For now, enjoy your scannable copies of "Tomorrowland."
