Apple’s decision to acquire music discovery service Shazam last year could pay off in short order, one analyst says.
The iPhone maker could add between 1.5 million and 7.5 million users to its Apple Music streaming service solely from its Shazam acquisition, Midia analyst Mark Mulligan told investors in a note, according to Business Insider. The analyst said that Shazam has 150 million monthly active users and provides a service to a total of 300 million to 400 million per year. Apple converting just 5% of Shazam’s monthly users into Apple Music subscribers would get the company to 7.5 million, according to Mulligan.
Apple announced in December that it had acquired Shazam for an undisclosed amount, though reports at the time said it was valued at $400 million. Shazam has been one of the most popular mobile apps in Apple’s App Store for years. The free app allows users to make their iPhones “listen” to ambient audio to determine what the name of a song might be. After returning the result, the app lets users buy the app.
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In a statement at the time, Apple said that it planned to integrate Shazam into Apple Music in some form. As of this writing, however, Shazam is still a standalone app that isn’t integrated into Apple Music.
Mulligan apparently believes Shazam was a smart acquisition for Apple. He said that Apple adding just a small portion of Shazam subscribers would mean the “investment will pay for itself in spades.” He added that accessing Shazam’s data, which includes user music preferences, could also help Apple improve Apple Music’s slate of services.
Apple has stayed silent on Shazam since its acquisition last year.
Correction 1/29/18: This story incorrectly listed Mark Mulligan’s firm as DN Capital. He’s an analyst at Midia.
