Apple Reportedly Acquiring Shazam as Music Streaming Wars Heat Up (Update: Confirmed)

Shazam integration in Siri

With rivals like Google planning to launch a new unified music streaming service (one that combines YouTube Music and Google Play Music) tentatively come March 2018, Spotify getting ready to go public next year and Amazon Music Unlimited rolling out to 28 new countries today, Apple is making a strategic move of its own by setting its eyes on song recognition service Shazam. According to multiple reports from TechCrunch and Recode, the Cupertino-based tech giant is "close to acquiring" the company in a US$ 400 million deal that could be announced as early as next week. The acquisition also makes it the second highest purchase since Apple acquired audio hardware company Beats for US$ 3 billion in 2014.

Update on 12/11: TechCrunch is now reporting that Apple will be confirming the acquisition today between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Pacific.

Update on 12/11: Apple has indeed confirmed its acquisition of the company, stating "We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple. Since the launch of the App Store, Shazam has consistently ranked as one of the most popular apps for iOS. Today, it's used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, across multiple platforms. Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit, sharing a passion for music discovery and delivering great music experiences to our users. We have exciting plans in store, and we look forward to combining with Shazam upon approval of today's agreement."