Shazam! Apple to acquire music naming app for $400 Million?

You might remember the commercial that Apple ran during the early days of the App Store. "You know when you don't know what song is playing and it's driving you crazy?," the ad started. The commercial went on to mention that with the Shazam app, putting the iPhone up to the song would get you the name of the tune, and where it can be purchased. Now, approximately nine years later, Apple is reported to be buying Shazam for $400 Million.

The deal could be announced as soon as Monday. Although the speculation has Apple paying $400 million for the company, in its most recent round of funding in 2015, Shazam raised capital at a valuation of $1 billion. If the rumor is true, the company has lost 60% of its value in two years. Shazam says that its app has been downloaded in 190 countries over 1 billion times. 20 million times a day, Shazam is used to name a song, television show, movie poster, magazine ad or AR content.

Why would Apple want Shazam? The main reason would be to bolster iTunes music sales. Shazam and Apple have had a partnership for a number of years that allows users of the app to purchase on iTunes, songs whose title they discovered using Shazam. The app's features are also integrated into virtual assistant Siri.

source: Variety