Apple to buy Shazam for $584 million

Apple is close to buying London-based Shazam. Photo / 123RF

Apple is close to nailing down a deal to buy media-recognition app maker Shazam Entertainment, according to a TechCrunch report Friday.

Apple could announce the agreement to buy London-based Shazam as soon as Monday, according to the report.

TechCrunch cited an anonymous source as saying the deal is worth around $US400 million (NZ $584). However, that would be less than the over $US1 billion valuation Shazam announced after its 2015 round of funding, reports News.com.au.

Reps for Apple and Shazam did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Apple would obviously want to use Shazam to bolster its music business -- and drive sales and subscriptions from users who "Shazam" songs.

The two companies have had a longstanding business relationship, under which Shazam app users can click through to purchase songs on iTunes that they've identified. Shazam's features are also integrated with Apple's Siri voice assistant.

Privately held Shazam was founded in 1999, and initially worked by using mobile phones' SMS text-messaging features to ID a song. In 2008, Shazam was among the first apps in Apple's then-brand-new App Store.

Shazam's app now lets users identify and share audio, TV shows, printed material (such as magazine ads and movie posters) and augmented-reality content.

The company says its app has been downloaded over 1 billion times by users in over 190 countries, and that its users "Shazam" content more than 20 million times per day.

Investors in Shazam include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Institutional Venture Partners, DN Capital, Acacia Capital Partners, and Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's America Movil, along with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Len Blavatnik's Access Industries (parent of Warner Music Group). Shazam has raised