Apple acquires music app Shazam

By Barry Eitel

SAN FRANCISCO (AA) – Apple confirmed Monday it has acquired the music discovery app Shazam.

Shazam, a London-based company that launched in 1999, is famed for being able to identify songs by listening to snippets of the music. The music could be being played in a commercial, department store or movie and Shazam can usually identify it.

The deal was rumored for about a week in technology media outlets. While neither company has revealed the cost of the acquisition, sources told TechCrunch and other outlets Apple paid about $400 million.

The addition of Shazam’s technology is expected to add powerful features to Apple’s digital assistant, Siri.

“We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple,” according to a statement by Apple. “Since the launch of the App Store, Shazam has consistently ranked as one of the most popular apps for iOS. Today, it’s used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, across multiple platforms. Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit, sharing a passion for music discovery and delivering great music experiences to our users. We have exciting plans in store, and we look forward to combining with Shazam upon approval of today’s agreement.”

Shazam said its app has been downloaded 1 billion times and has been used 30 billion times to identify songs. It has struggled, however, to monetize its service – in 2016, Shazam brought in only $54 million in revenue.

Shares of Apple grew about 2 percent Monday after the news to close at $172.67.