Shazam finally turns a profit, one billion downloads later

Thomas McMullan Read more September 30, 2016

The company behind the desktop and mobile song identifier app, London-based Shazam Entertainment Ltd, has finally crossed the line into profitability – reportedly due to a shift in focus towards advertising sales.

Shazam finally turns a profit, one billion downloads later

According to Billboard, Shazam’s revenue from advertising has surpassed what it gains from music partnerships and referrals to music streaming sites. Ads on Shazam appear while users scan their surroundings to identify songs.

The service was first founded in 1999, and launched in the UK in 2002. At the time, users had to call a number to identify songs – it wasn’t until 2008 that Shazam debuted as a smartphone app. Shazam Entertainment also announced this week that its app has been downloaded one billion times.

“We are excited to have accomplished these significant milestones in the development of Shazam,” said Shazam CEO Rich Riley. “Transitioning our business model to advertising, achieving profitability and crossing one billion downloads are the result of the tremendous efforts of our team. We remain relentlessly focused on delivering magic for our users and results for our advertising partners, and couldn’t be more excited about our future.”

Shazam may have authority when it comes to identifying music, but the company is facing increasing competition – not only from dedicated apps such as SoundHound, but also from AI assistants such as Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant. Amazon’s Echo also allows users to identify songs by speaking to the home hub.