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It's official: Apple is buying Shazam

Tim Cook
Apple CEO Tim Cook. Reuters

  • Apple has bought Shazam, one of the early hit iPhone apps.
  • The Shazam app allows users to identify the music that's playing nearby, such as a song in a restaurant or cafe. It also had augmented reality technology and an advertising business.
  • No price was included in the announcement, but a source tells Business Insider it was around $400 million.

 

Apple has bought Shazam, the popular music-recognition app and augmented-reality service.

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Shazam and Apple both confirmed the purchase on Monday morning. "We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple," an Apple spokesperson told Business Insider. 

"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," he continued. 

Rich Riley
Shazam CEO Rich Riley. Shazam

A price was not included in the announcement, but a person familiar with the deal told Business Insider on Friday that it was $400 million, significantly less than the company's last valuation of over $1 billion, although that price was said to be a "bit artificial" due to later investors receiving a liquidation preference. 

Apple spokespeople did not elaborate about Apple's plans for the Shazam service, but the company mentioned that it is popular "across multiple platforms" in its statement, suggesting a possibility that Apple keeps the service operational. 

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Shazam will be one of Apple's biggest deals in years. Apple's largest purchase to date was another music-centered company, Beats, in 2014 for $3 billion. 

Google recently incorporated similar technology to Shazam's into its high-end Pixel 2 smartphone. Google's version of the technology constantly monitors nearby music, displaying each song title on the phone's screen — a handy feature that may have led Apple to conclude it needed to offer a similar function in its iPhones in order to not appear behind the curve.

Here's the full Apple statement, provided by spokesperson Tom Neumayr:

"We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining 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."

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Here's Shazam on the deal, provided by spokesperson Giovanni Bossio:

"We are excited to announce that Shazam has entered into an agreement to become part of Apple. Shazam is one of the highest rated apps in the world and loved by hundreds of millions of users and we can’t imagine a better home for Shazam to enable us to continue innovating and delivering magic for our users."

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