Apple is adding another key weapon to its war chest in the battle against Spotify, based on a new report that claims the company plans to acquire the app Shazam.
The popular app helps users identify any song, TV show or movie in seconds just by listening to it via a smartphone’s microphone. iOS integrated Siri with Shazam a few years ago, but it appears that Apple’s looking to bring the entire operation in-house.
A deal between Apple and Shazam could be signed as soon as this week, according to TechCrunch’s sources. The deal will supposedly be announced on Monday.
Even though Shazam’s was valued around $1 billion in its last funding round in 2015, Apple will allegedly pay significantly less than that amount. Sources say the deal will be worth nine figures, but it could be in the lower end, like $401 million.
Shazam has raised $143.5 million since it was founded in 1999. Before apps were even a thing the only way to access the service was via SMS code.
Adding Shazam natively to iOS could certainly be a boost to Apple Music. It’s unclear if Apple will still allow other third-party apps like Spotify to connect to the app.
Spokespeople for both Apple and Shazam have declined to comment on the potential acquisition.
