Learn more about any song that's playing anywhere with NowPlaying

Nowplaying Artwork (Image credit: Modum B.V.)

What you need to know

NowPlaying is a new app that can identify songs and give you information about them.
It doesn't matter if you're listening to Apple Music or your record collection.

The next time you're listening to a song, whether it's a record or from Apple Music, and wishing you had more information about it, wish no more. NowPlaying is here.

Using the magic of ShazamKit, NowPlaying listens to the song that is playing no matter the source and then provides information about it. Developer Hidde van der Ploeg explains why that's so cool:

Use your iOS or iPadOS device as a display for all your speakers. By using NowPlaying you can quickly discover which song is playing and let the user find out more about the music that's on. Currently, you would need to know the record by heart, count grooves or look at the cover and label to know what song is playing.NowPlaying is going to tell you all we can find for the music that's found. Like editorial notes, where the song was recorded and even who played what instrument

NowPlaying has a gorgeous interface and works on iPhone and iPad, perfect for those comfy listening sessions on the couch. The full feature list is a long one but you'll find out all kinds of things including the song's release date, genre, who composed it, and more.

NowPlaying can be downloaded from the App Store (opens in new tab) now and it costs just $1.99. If you're a music fan or just want to learn more about the songs that you're listening to — even on vinyl — this app could be the best iPhone app you install this month.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.