Shazam (music app)
Shazam is an application that can identify music based on a short sample played using the microphone on the device.[2] It was created by the British company Shazam Entertainment, based in London, and has been owned by Apple since 2018. The software is available for Android, macOS, iOS, Wear OS, watchOS and as a Google Chrome extension.
Original author(s)
Shazam Entertainment Limited
19 August 2002[1]
- Apple:
- iOS, macOS, watchOS
- Google:
- Android, Wear OS, Chrome
- Others:
- Windows
- Deprecated:
- Windows Phone, BlackBerry OS, Nokia Asha
The original UK developer of the app, Shazam Entertainment Limited, was founded in 1999 by Chris Barton, Philip Inghelbrecht, Avery Wang, and Dhiraj Mukherjee.[3] On 24 September 2018, the company was acquired by Apple for a reported $400 million.[4][5]
Funding[edit]
Shazam's initial $7.5M in venture capital investment, in September 2001, came from Lynx New Media, IDG Ventures Europe, and FLV, a Belgian speech-recognition investment fund.[48]
In September 2012, Shazam raised a US$32 million round of funding.[49] In July 2013, América Móvil invested US$40 million in Shazam for an undisclosed share,[50] which helped put their technology in the hands of millions of users in Latin America.[48] In March 2014, Shazam confirmed another US$20 million in new funding, raising the total value of the company to US$500 million.[51] The company's earlier backers include European venture capital firm DN Capital, which invested in Shazam in 2004.[52]
Patent infringement lawsuit[edit]
In May 2009, Tune Hunter accused Shazam of violating U.S. patent 6,941,275, which covers music identification and purchase in a portable device.[53] Shazam settled the case in January 2010.[54]