Apple is said to be acquiring Shazam, the music recognition service. The Cupertino tech giant doesn’t usually comment on its acquisitions, but is said to make an official announcement on Monday.
The long-standing music recognition service of choice saw its billionth app download last September. The company however has yet to turn a profit.
No numbers have been pinned to the deal, but it is rumoured to be around USD400 million, a big “discount” from Shazam’s USD1 billion valuation in 2015.
Apple may be looking to beef up iTunes and Apple Music, and thus a Shazam purchase makes perfect sense.
The company’s high-profile purchase of Beats by Dre in 2014 has since evolved into an expansive audio hardware portfolio and music streaming service.
It is also looking to growing and enhancing its podcast platform. Apple has been a long dominant player in the podcast universe. It reportedly acquired Pop Up Archive this week, the little-known online search platform that can transcribe, organise, and search audio files.
The company also recently acquired init.ai, a messaging assistant; and PowerbyProxi, a wireless charging company.
Apple sits on a USD256 billion cash hoard, larger than the market cap of General Electric.
VIA Pocketnow
