Shazam Launches “Popular Segments” to Reveal the Most Popular Moments in a Song

The feature, called Popular Segments, is intended to be relatively straightforward, telling users exactly which parts of a song generate the most engagement among listeners. According to Shazam, the aim of this feature is to provide both artists and listeners with valuable insights into what makes a song memorable and what resonates with fans.

At its core, it may resemble a long-running SoundCloud feature that lets users comment on specific moments in a track, with those comments appearing to other listeners as the song plays.

However, it’s important to note that Popular Segments is based on data showing which part or parts of a song have “driven the most Shazam activity within the past week” – in other words, the moments that have been most frequently Shazam’d. As a result, it is debatable whether this information fully reflects a song’s overall most popular moments, since “most Shazam’d moments” and “most popular moments” are not necessarily the same thing.

“Available for top tracks ranking on Shazam’s charts and based on Shazam tag volume, this interactive feature displays relative segment popularity throughout a song, allowing users to hover over the graph and reveal precise time markers and corresponding segments,” Shazam states in an official announcement.

Given that Shazam has around 300 million active monthly users (as reported in 2023), the resulting data is not negligible or insignificant. That said, one should recognize that listeners don’t necessarily Shazam a song at the exact moment they enjoy most (in fact, it's debatable how significant the percentage of people who do is). Some users may decide to Shazam a track only toward the end, while others may take several seconds to locate the app and press the Shazam button after hearing a catchy section.

Still, the feature could provide valuable insights into what motivates listeners to identify a song and learn who it is by. In turn, this information could support further analysis of listener behavior, trends, and engagement signals. In theory, artists and marketers can use these insights to optimize their marketing efforts by focusing on these segments and leveraging proven engagement.

According to the company’s statement, the feature was announced on December 11, 2025, and is rolling out across desktop platforms. No confirmed timeline for the mobile app rollout has been announced yet.