Shazam keeps missing the tracks in your DJ set
If Shazam works on ordinary songs, the problem is the mix: it gives Shazam audio it was not built for. Paste the link to the set and get back the tracks we can name, with timestamps.
You'll see the length and the price in hours before you pay.
Or see a finished tracklist first.
What you see tells you why it failed
Last updated
Shazam takes a short sample and looks for one recording that matches it. That suits a song on the radio.
| What happens | Why | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing comes back from a festival or club recording | Crowd noise, voices and room echo sit on top of the music, and Shazam is judging a few seconds of it. | Look for a cleaner upload of the same set, such as a radio or livestream version. Or paste the link into setlist.id, which checks the whole recording. |
| It names tracks in the quiet parts and nothing in the middle of a transition | In a blend two records play at once, so the few seconds Shazam hears are a mix of both and may match neither. | Try again a bar or two after the new record settles, or on the last clean bars of the old one. |
| You know the track, but there is no match | DJs speed records up or slow them down to hold the tempo. A pitched or stretched record no longer sounds like the release that was fingerprinted. | Check the tracklist or comments for the title. setlist.id can still miss it, since heavy tempo changes lower its hit rate too. |
| It returns a track, but the edit or remix you heard is something else | A match points to a released recording. A bootleg, a private edit or a mash-up has no release of its own, so the closest released record may come back. | Treat the result as the base record and ask in the comments for the edit, with the timestamp. |
| No match, ever, on a track people keep asking about | It may be unreleased, such as a promo or the DJ's own edit. Most catalogues cannot match it yet. | Post the link, the timestamp and the tracks either side. Someone who has the record can often answer from that one comment. |
If it fails on ordinary songs too
Then the cause is on the phone, and no mix tool will change it.
- Open the phone's settings and confirm Shazam is allowed to use the microphone.
- Check the connection, then update the app.
- Take off a case or cover that muffles the microphone, and bring the phone close to the speaker.
We check the recording in overlapping segments
setlist.id takes the link and pulls the audio from the source. Our own recognition system decides what to test, and draws on Shazam and ACRCloud where it cannot resolve a passage alone. In a blend there is often a stretch where one record is clear enough to match, and the overlap makes it more likely one of them catches it.
What you get back is the tracklist in play order, each track with the timestamp where it starts. This is a real one:
Fred again.. | Boiler Room: London · identified by setlist.id
0:01HomicideConnor James
2:34Kammy (like i do)Fred again..
7:20Danielle (smile on my face)Fred again..
10:01Tanya (maybe life)Fred again..- 13:12Carlos (interlude)Fred again..
Nothing is recorded on your device, and you do not need to stay on the page. Processing a one-hour mix typically takes under five minutes.
Some tracks stay unnamed
Recognition matches released music. A dubplate, a promo or a DJ's private edit has nothing to match until it comes out, for Shazam or anyone else. Heavily pitched or stretched records also match less often.
Those stretches appear in the tracklist as gaps with their timestamps, which gives you a specific minute to point to when you ask. Post it in the comments or a track ID thread. The track ID page explains how.
Questions after Shazam fails
Why is Shazam not working on a DJ set?
If the app works on ordinary songs, the audio is the problem. Shazam listens for a few seconds and names one song. A set gives it blends, tempo-shifted records, crowd noise and unreleased music, and each of those can leave it with nothing to match.
Why does Shazam say it cannot find a match?
Shazam could not match the sample to a recording in its catalogue. That happens with noisy audio, two tracks playing at once, a record played at a different speed than its release, or a track that has not been released.
Can Shazam identify a whole DJ mix?
The Shazam app names one song per attempt and does not give a timestamp against a recording. To get a tracklist for a full mix from a link, paste the link into setlist.id. setlist.id splits the recording into overlapping segments and returns the tracks it identifies with their timestamps.
Does setlist.id fail on the same tracks?
Partly. Unreleased tracks usually cannot be matched by any recognition service, and heavily pitched or stretched records are harder for setlist.id as well. What differs is the number of tries: the recording is checked in many overlapping segments, so a track that fails in one can be caught in the next. Stretches that stay unmatched are marked with their timestamp.
Does it work on live club recordings?
It works on a link from any supported platform. Crowd noise lowers the hit rate, and a clean broadcast or livestream version of the same set is likely to identify more tracks than a phone recording from the floor.
Which recognition does setlist.id use?
setlist.id runs its own recognition system and draws on Shazam and ACRCloud where it cannot resolve a passage alone.
What does it cost?
setlist.id is priced by the hour of audio: an hour buys an hour of mix, with a 15-minute minimum. Bundles start at 5 hours for $6, hours never expire, and a stretch that cannot be identified is refunded automatically.
Try it on the set Shazam missed
Paste the link and see which tracks come back.