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Apple reportedly may buy music identifying app Shazam for $400M
Apple Inc. is reportedly close to completing a $400 million acquisition of Shazam Entertainment Ltd., the London-based developer behind music identification app Shazam.
According to a report by TechCrunch, sources say the deal could be signed as early as this week, with an official announcement planned for Monday.
Founded in 1999 before officially launching in 2002, Shazam was one of the first services able to identify the name and artist of a song by listening to it through a user’s phone. Shazam’s iOS app was also one of the very first apps on the Apple App Store when it launched in 2008, and it remains one of the most popular apps on the platform.
Over the years, Shazam has raised more than $143 million in funding, and in 2015 it reached a $1 billion valuation, which is significantly higher than the price Apple is reportedly expected to pay.
The acquisition could be a smart move for both Shazam and Apple. In recent years, rival apps like SoundHound have started to steal Shazam’s thunder, and Android phones can natively identify songs using Google Search. Google has even expanded this feature on its Pixel 2 phones, which can passively listen for songs to identify and display them on the lock screen.
With the popularity of Shazam’s iOS app, it is clear that Apple users want this sort of functionality in their phones. Shazam can already interact with Siri, and if Apple does buy the app, it could easily fold its features directly into new versions of iOS. This would also allow Apple to provide users with a link to purchase identified songs on the App Store.
Shazam has a few other tools that might also interest Apple, such as its augmented reality platform (pictured), which allows brands to create AR advertising campaigns that users can access through “Shazam Codes” printed on posters, business cards or elsewhere. Shazam also does work with machine learning and artificial intelligence, both of which are of interest to Apple.
Apple and Shazam have yet to confirm or comment on the acquisition rumors.
Photo: Shazam
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