Apple Inc is in talks to acquire Shazam Entertainment Ltd, whose app enables users identify songs by taking the smart phone close to an audio source.
TechCrunch, which is a Tech news website reported that Apple could offer up to $400 million for the purchase of Shazam and that a deal could be underway as early as next week.
Shazam’s smartphone software is already firmly integrated with Apple’s Siri digital assistant. Owners of Apple’s iPhone with the Shazam app installed could give a voice command like: “Hey Siri, what’s that song?” and the app will bring up the song.
However, Shazam has added features, such as the ability to identify television shows, that are yet to work with Siri.
According to PitchBook, a firm that tracks private venture investments, UK-based Shazam has been able to raise $143 million from DN Capital Limited, Institutional Venture Partners, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, among others, over its 18 year history.
Apple could bolster its music efforts through the acquisition of Shazam as Apple users will find it easier to find and add songs to their playlist from the Apple Music service.
In the middle of 2017, Apple Music had 27 million subscribers, behind rival music streaming service Spotify’s with 60 million users.
