Apple has completed its acquisition of Shazam and will soon roll out an ad-free version of the song identification app for all users.
The free version of Shazam currently features banner advertisements, while a paid version called Encore is ad-free for a one-off cost of $6.99/£2.99 – and includes an integration with Apple Music rival Spotify.
It’s unclear if Encore will continue, and what extra features it will offer.
Apple agreed to acquire Shazam for $400m at the end of last year and the deal was approved by EU regulators earlier this month.
Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music, said today: “Apple and Shazam have a long history together.
“With a shared love of music and innovation, we are thrilled to bring our teams together to provide users even more great ways to discover, experience and enjoy music.”
oliver schusser, apple music
“Shazam was one of the first apps available when we launched the App Store and has become a favorite app for music fans everywhere.
“With a shared love of music and innovation, we are thrilled to bring our teams together to provide users even more great ways to discover, experience and enjoy music.”
Shazam has been downloaded over 1 billion times around the world, and users identify songs using its app over 20 million times each day.
Using music identification, Shazam helps people discover, interact with and share video, audio or printed content across devices and mediums.
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