Apple scoops up Shazam for a musical score

It's not quite $3 billion for Beats, but still: Apple confirms it'll buy the music recognition app to bolster its Spotify competitor, Apple Music.

Joan E. Solsman Former Senior Reporter

Joan E. Solsman was CNET's senior media reporter, covering the intersection of entertainment and technology. She's reported from locations spanning from Disneyland to Serbian refugee camps, and she previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. She bikes to get almost everywhere and has been doored only once.

Expertise Streaming video, film, television and music; virtual, augmented and mixed reality; deep fakes and synthetic media; content moderation and misinformation online Credentials

Three Folio Eddie award wins: 2018 science & technology writing (Cartoon bunnies are hacking your brain), 2021 analysis (Deepfakes' election threat isn't what you'd think) and 2022 culture article (Apple's CODA Takes You Into an Inner World of Sign)

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Joan E. Solsman

Dec. 11, 2017 9:52 a.m. PT

apple-shazam — Shazam will soon be in Apple's hands.
Óscar Gutiérrez/CNET

Apple on Monday confirmed its acquisition of music recognition app Shazam, saying it's "thrilled" to be gaining one of the consistently most popular apps in its App Store.

"Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit, sharing a passion for music discovery and delivering great music experiences to our users," the company said in a statement. "We have exciting plans in store, and we look forward to combining with Shazam upon approval of today's agreement."

The company didn't disclose financial details, such as a purchase price. Last week, TechCrunch reported Apple was close to buying Shazam for an amount in the hundreds of millions; one unnamed person pegged the purchase price at about £300 million, or roughly $401 million.

Apple's proclamation of the Shazam deal is atypical for a company that keeps most of its takeovers hush-hush. Though it pales in comparison with the company's $3 billion acquisition of Beats, the Shazam move is also part of Apple's push to beef up its services like Apple Music, which has long played second fiddle to Spotify in attracting subscribers.

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