SHAZAPPLE, APPLE BUYS SHAZAM
Snapchat and Spotify have missed out on a deal to buy Shazam, the world's most popular music recognition app with Apple rumoured to have secured the deal for $400 million.
Apple and Shazam have both reported "they have exciting plans in store," with the Shazam service already deeply-linked into Apple's music store.
An Apple spokesperson said:
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.
Music tracks recognised by the app that is used by hundreds of millions of people can already be played with a single click from Apple Music or Spotify.
Apple paid $3.4 Billion to purchase headphone maker Beats who had already developed its own music streaming service in 2014.
Meanwhile, Shazam, the 18-year-old U.K company had been valued at $1 Billion in 2015.
While clearly the market-leader app for music recognition, industry commentators have said that the company had struggled to turn its 175 million active monthly user base into a business reflective of its valuation, with just $54 million in revenue last year.
Good news for Apple Music and perhaps not so good for Spotify.
Marc Rushton
StereoNET’s Founder and Publisher was born in England and raised on British Hi-Fi before moving to Australia. He developed an early love of music and playing bass guitar before discovering the studio and the other side of the mixing desk. After writing for print magazines, Marc saw the future in digital publishing and founded the first version of StereoNET in 1999.
Posted in: Technology | Music
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