[Archive 2017-12-13] Apple, Inc. confirms acquisition of Shazam

Historical archive — originally published 2017-12-13. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

On Monday, US-based tech company Apple, Inc. confirmed acquisition of UK-based song identification application Shazam. According to reports, the deal is worth US$400 million.

Founded in West London in 1999 by Avery Wang, Chris Barton, Dhiraj Mukharjee, and Philip Inghelbrecht, Shazam creates a "digital fingerprint of the audio" and recognises a song, and provides other information including artist's name, album, lyrics, release year and record label company. It also provides links to music streaming services including Apple Music, Google Play Music and Spotify. Shazam generates revenue from advertisements and commission from streaming services.

California-based company Apple, Inc. acquired Dr. Dre's Beats Electronics three years ago for US$3 billion.

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