Shazam Entertainment Limited, commonly known as Shazam, is a British technology company specializing in music recognition and discovery software. Founded in 2000, Shazam developed a pioneering mobile application that allows users to identify songs, artists, and other audio content by simply holding their smartphone's microphone to the playing music. The app uses acoustic fingerprinting technology to match audio samples against a vast database, providing instant results including lyrics, videos, and purchase links. Over the years, Shazam expanded its features to include concert recommendations, music playlists, and integration with streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, amassing over 2 billion downloads worldwide and becoming a staple for music enthusiasts. The company's growth was marked by significant venture capital funding and partnerships in the music industry. In 2017, Apple Inc. announced its acquisition of Shazam for a reported $400 million, completing the deal in 2018. This acquisition integrated Shazam deeply into Apple's ecosystem, enhancing Siri capabilities and the Apple Music service with Shazam's recognition technology. Post-acquisition, Shazam operates as a subsidiary of Apple, continuing to innovate in audio recognition while contributing to Apple's broader media and entertainment strategies. Despite its success, Shazam has faced criticisms regarding data privacy concerns and the accuracy of its recognition in noisy environments, though it remains a leader in the audio identification space. Shazam's influence extends to cultural and commercial networks in the entertainment sector, facilitating connections between users, artists, and labels through its discovery tools. Its technology has been licensed to various platforms, underscoring its role in the digital music economy.