Apple Acquires Shazam for $400 million
Apple confirmed Monday it will be buying the audio sampling app Shazam for $400 million, merging two companies that are heavily focused on musical endeavors.
Shazam, the app that listens to music, movies and television shows and tells the user what it is playing, was founded in 1999 and helped revolutionize the way people discovered music. The story was originally posted by Buzzfeed News, but Apple’s intent with the buyout is still unknown.
“We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple,” Apple spokesperson Tom Neumayr told Mashable in an emailed statement. “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.”
Siri, what's that song?
Apple buys Shazam: https://t.co/pop8ZbWCWE pic.twitter.com/nNCe5XpcWY
— CNN (@CNN) December 12, 2017
It is also important to note that Siri, Apple’s AI assistant, works like a built-in Shazam app. Ask Siri, “What song is playing?” and she’ll prompt you to an artist. This leaves much speculation that the buyout is more focused on Apple’s music services rather than the functionality of Shazam.
As Apple’s music streaming service looks to compete against other platforms like Spotify, the merge is strategic in its approach to move the tech giant toward the leader in this market. Apple Music, although popular within Apple’s loyal base, is only available for iOS and OS operating systems, leaving Spotify, Google Play and Tidal to a bigger market that includes Android uses.
