Apple Acquiring Shazam and Says 'Exciting Plans' Are Ahead

Apple today announced it has agreed to acquire music recognition service Shazam, marking the company's highest-profile purchase since it acquired headphone maker Beats for $3 billion in May 2014.

Apple did not disclose financial terms this time, but when TechCrunch broke news of the acquisition plans last week, one of its sources said the deal could be worth around $400 million. Shazam was valued at $1 billion in January 2015.

apple shazam
Apple confirmed the acquisition plans in a statement provided to MacRumors and several other media outlets today:

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.

Shazam issued the following statement:

We are excited to announce that Shazam has entered into an agreement to become part of Apple. Shazam is one of the highest rated apps in the world and loved by hundreds of millions of users and we can't imagine a better home for Shazam to enable us to continue innovating and delivering magic for our users.

Shazam is a popular service that can identify the name and lyrics of songs, music videos, TV shows, and more. The company has standalone iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch apps, while the service is also built into Siri on iOS 8 and later.

shazam iphone x
Shazam is integrated with Apple Music, allowing subscribers to identify a song and then tap to play it directly via the streaming music service. Shazam also has an iMessage app for identifying and sharing songs in the Messages app.

Shazam isn't just a big part of Apple. The service is built into Snapchat, allowing users to recognize, discover, and share music with friends. In the app, simply press and hold on the camera screen to identify a song with Shazam.

In September 2016, Shazam announced that its mobile apps had been downloaded more than 1 billion times since launching. Shazam released its original iPhone app when the App Store launched in 2008.

Shazam's machine learning algorithms used to identify audio clips, and its augmented reality feature that enables users to discover content based on pictures captured with its app, could be valuable technologies to Apple.

Apple said it is not disclosing further details at this time, so we'll have to wait and see exactly how it uses Shazam's technologies and talent.

Tag: Shazam

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
AirPods Pro 3 Newsroom

Apple's 'Back to School' Offer Ends Soon, Now Applies to AirPods Pro 3

Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad. Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value. ...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

Apple Blames In-Store MagSafe Chargers for iPhone 17 Pro Display Model Scratches

Wednesday September 24, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
The marks on the iPhone 17 Pro models that people have noticed at Apple retail stores are caused by the chargers that Apple uses, Apple confirmed today. Apple told 9to5Mac that worn MagSafe charging stands in stores are causing marks on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple says that the marks are not scratches, and are instead material transfer from the stand to the phone. The...
Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system. In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
ios 26 digital id passport wallet

Apple Confirms iOS 26 Wallet Passport Feature is Coming in 2025

Tuesday September 23, 2025 1:06 pm PDT by
Digital ID, the iOS 26 feature that lets U.S. passport holders add their passports to the Wallet app, is coming later in 2025, Apple confirmed today. Apple updated the release timing wording of Digital ID on its iOS 26 features page. "Digital ID will be coming later this year with US passports only," it reads. Prior to today, the footnote for the feature said "Digital ID will be available ...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
iPhone 17 Pro USB C Port

iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Monday September 22, 2025 7:29 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 36W with the following Apple chargers:40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max 61W USB-C Power Adapter 67W USB-C Power Adapter 70W USB-C Power Adapter 96W USB-C Power Adapter 140W USB-C Power AdapterFor...

Top Rated Comments

DeutscheMark Avatar
102 months ago
Good bye Spotify integration... :(
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bluespark Avatar
102 months ago
Hopefully this is the death blow to Spotify
That's a rather odd take. What did Spotify do to you?
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TMRJIJ Avatar
102 months ago
Let's hope Shazam doesn't become another workflow.
There’s nothing wrong with Workflow.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
asdavis10 Avatar
102 months ago
This will hurt Spotify if they lose Shazam integration while giving Apple valuable IP and people resources to make Siri and Apple Music better. Good move for Apple.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
v0lume4 Avatar
102 months ago
Hopefully this is the death blow to Spotify
You'll learn one day, young padawan.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
recoil80 Avatar
102 months ago
This is bad, because it's proof that Apple simply can't improve Siri without acquisitions.
As long as they improve Siri, I'm fine with that. If they need to acquire other companies to achieve the goal what's the problem? We, as customers, should care about the final result, and Apple has plenty of money to spend so it doesn't affect other products or R&D in general
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)