As if to contradict or back up rumors of a possible commercial stoppage of music on iTunes in 2019, Apple is about to offer itself one of the best-known apps in the world, Shazam.
Shazam, the app downloaded more than a billion times (September 2016 figure) and used "by more than 100 million people each month" about to pass into the fold Apple? In any case, this is what sources from the US sites TechCrunch and ReCode unveil today. Estimated cost of the operation: $ 400 million and the official announcement may well come early next week. But why does Apple want to take control of Shazam?
In a first place, probably to add the technologies and algorithms developed and refined by Shazam for many years to his portfolio. Technos able to listen and identify with almost surgical accuracy any snippet of a piece of music, in seconds. And this, that it is briefly broadcast in a film, in a television show or on the radio.
Getting hold of Shazam would also be a way for Apple to make some substantial savings. As The Verge points out, the crunchy apple brand pays Shazam a commission to have users redirect users to the iTunes Store whenever a song is identified via the iPhone / iPad app. And probably a little extra bonus if a purchase act follows. A commission that, according to the Wall Street Journal, would account for a significant portion of Shazam's revenue and generate 10% of sales made on the Apple platform.
Close Shazam?
Another possible reason, buy Shazam to make it then ... disappear. This would do a lot of harm to the streaming services -Spotify and Google Play Music for example- that also benefit from the services of the app. Still according to the Wall Street Journal, it would return the equivalent of 1 million clicks per day on these services, more than comfortable traffic and necessarily generating commission income as soon as a purchase is made.
In addition, if recent rumors about a possible closure of the music sales service via iTunes were true, acquiring Shazam could allow Apple to create significant synergies between the app and its own streaming service, Apple Music, as is the case today with iTunes. You hear a song, you do not know it, you like it, you "shazammez" it and you would be redirected to Apple Music to listen to it live and in full, for a subscription or a few dollars ...
We can finally think that Apple could enjoy one of the last services of Shazam: follow celebrities and artists and be warned when "shazamment" a piece. It's up to you to find out and see if you like it too. Recall that Apple relies heavily on Beats 1 radio programs animated by some American or American show business figures (Zane Lowe, Ebro Darden (British and American radio hosts), Lars Ulrich (Metallica drummer), Pharell Williams, etc.). ) to attract potential subscribers.
Expand a little more ARKit too
Apple may be interested in the recent augmented reality services and technologies put in place by Shazam. Earlier this year, it launched an AR platform for brands, using the visual recognition process deployed in 2015.
