Shazam

Apple acquisition helped Shazam turn a profit, increase user base in 2018

Chance Miller | Oct 9 2019 - 3:17 pm PT

Apple closed its acquisition of Shazam towards the end of 2018, but it was still early to have an impact on Shazam’s financials. As detailed by Billboard, Shazam increase its user base and became profitable during 2018.

In financial results submitted to the U.K. Companies House this week, Shazam revealed that its user base reached 478 million users in 2018, up from 400 million users during 2017. Revenue for Shazam was down from $44.8 million in 2017 to $34.5 million.

The change in revenue can be attributed to Apple removing all advertisements from the Shazam app in September. Profit for Shazam hit $158.4 million in 2018, compared to the loss of $19.4 million that it suffered in 2017. Lastly, the average number of monthly employees for Shazam fell from 225 in 2017 to 216 in 2018.

In the filling, Shazam says that “relates to the proceeds from the sale of intellectual property” and the “value attributed to the workforce of Shazam Media Services which was acquired by Apple.”

Even before its acquisition of Shazam officially closed in September, Apple began implementing the music tagging service’s features throughout iOS. For instance, in August, Apple launched a new Apple Music trending chart called the “Shazam Discovery Top 50.”

Apple has also implemented Shazam into its Apple Music for Artists platform as well as in various other spots through iOS and the HomePod.

When Apple announced the Shazam acquisition, it teased big plans for the music tagging service:

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.

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