Apple confirms it has acquired Shazam in deal worth $400 million
A rumor floated around on Friday that Apple was considering acquiring Shazam, a popular music identification app. Today, the company made the unusual move of confirming the acquisition to the press. Usually, Apple doesn’t comment on its decision to buy up companies (and the tech that powers them), but they’ve stepped outside the norm by releasing an official statement about the acquisition.
“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.”
It will be interesting to see the direction Apple takes the company after the acquisition. Of course, their own press announcement focuses on Shazam as an iOS app, but the company also offers its services to Android users, too. Whether Apple will shutter this in favor of making Shazam iOS only remains to be seen.