Apple Shazam: Why does the US company buy the music app?

Apple Shazam: Why does the US company buy the music app?

Apple's intelligent assistant, Siri, is already connecting to Shazam, allowing users to verbally ask, "What song is playing?" and did it for over three years.

But with growing competition between Apple Music and Spotify - which is also related to Shazam - Apple may have felt the need to secure the service rather than risk that its Swedish competitor or another company buys it first.

Apple has said that Shazam is a "natural fit" for its streaming music platform.

Some, however, believe that the real value of the acquisition is not Shazam's technology - that Apple would probably have developed a version of itself for a smaller amount - but rather the data that Shazam has collected for more of a decade on its millions of users.

"Spotify has made discovering new music the centerpiece of what makes it a compelling proposition," said Mark Mulligan of Midia Research.

"Apple just does not have the same amount of data about listening tastes as Spotify, which means it can not generate such accurate and precise recommendations.

Take a look at the list of Apple published by Apple, the most popular iPhone of the year

applications, and there is a notable omission: Shazam.

In fact, it's been a while since the song identification software snuck into the top 10 of the iOS App Store.

So why did Apple confirm that it "combined" its business with that of the London small business?

It has not revealed the price it pays, but the rumor runs to 400 million dollars (300 million pounds sterling), which would make it one of the most expensive acquisitions of Apple to date.

The American tech giant has not revealed either his motives beyond saying he has "exciting plans in the store".

But there are several reasons the agreement may have appealed.

Beats headphone division

Beats 1 radio station

Itunes Store

Carpool Karaoke Show (with other music-themed shows)