Apple confirms acquisition of music recognition app Shazam

Apple has confirmed it has acquired music recognition app Shazam. There have been rumors recently that the Cupertino-based company was planning to acquire Shazam. The acquisition still has to be approved.

In a brief official statement, provided to TechCrunch, among others, Apple confirms the acquisition, but the company does not provide further details such as the agreed price. In the statement, Apple says that Shazam and Apple music are a natural fit; so it’s only natural that Shazam will be integrated into Apple Music or at least iOS.

Recently, the generally well-established TechCrunch reported, citing several unnamed sources, that Apple was close to acquiring Shazam. According to the sources, Apple would be willing to put on the table an amount of 300 million pounds, converted about 341 million euros. TechCrunch reports that multiple sources have said Shazam has also previously spoken with Snapchat and Spotify about a possible acquisition.

Shazam has developed an application that is available for Android and iOS, as well as for the Apple Watch and Android Wear. There is also a version for the Mac. With the software it is possible to recognize songs; of music played, the artist and song title can be shown by letting the app ‘listen’ to it. Some time ago, Shazam also came up with the ability to recognize images.

What Apple wants with the acquisition of Shazam is not clear. The company may make the software a standard part of iOS, something that was mentioned in rumors years ago. It is also the question whether the Android version will continue to be developed after the takeover.