i worked at landmark digital up until about a year ago, so i can say with some confidence that you've got it backwards. the music recognition algorithm was dev

i worked at landmark digital up until about a year ago, so i can say with some confidence that you've got it backwards. the music recognition algorithm was developed by mr wang, specifically for shazam, to do just what it has been doing all along. the reason landmark got into the picture is because they are a subsidiary of bmi, the music rights organization. they monitor radio stations. since the dawn of time, they have been paying actual human beings to record logs of every song played on most of the big radio stations in the united states, 24/7. they use that information to ensure that the song's rightsholders get paid for the plays. obviously this is a situation ripe for automation. they hired a guy to do a multi-year search for the best technology for the job, and settled on shazam's algorithm. i am not privy to the details, but i believe shazam sold the code to landmark because they were strapped for cash. there are complicated legal agreements in place of course, so that shazam can still use the code for cellphone music recognition.