[mceoin]

Perhaps. Impossible to know the inside info but I can conceive of a scenario where Apple said "we are going to build this, either by acquiring you, your competitor, or starting from scratch. ... so what will it be?"

Best outcome for all in that case would be acquisition. (Just ask Flux)

[ChuckMcM]

I suspect the hardest part of their business was not doing the technology, rather it was building relationships with the brands and artists. Making it frictionless to push a button on your iOS device to recognize a tune and then put it in your Apple Music playlist for many future billable plays would seem to be a better model than Spotify.

[nojvek]

Shazam has patents on the Audio fingerprinting tech and their lawyers have been great at giving cease and desist order to similar tech left and right.

This could just be Apple’s way of acquiring more patents and mind share through Shazam brand.

At the level Apple is at and the hordes of cash they have in bank, it probably makes business sense to buy Shazam just for the patents.