Apple buys music identifying app Shazam

Apple is buying Shazam, a popular app that identifies music for users by listening to a short snippet of it.

Technology website Techcrunch first reported on the possibility of the merger last week before Apple made it official in a statement Monday.

"We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple," the company said in a statement. "Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit, sharing a passion for music discovery and delivering great music experiences to our users," Apple's statement said.

Privately-held Shazam has raised more than $143 million US in various rounds of funding over the years, and it's most recent valuation came in at around $1 billion US — a price tag that would make the company one of the biggest companies Apple has ever purchased. But reports suggest the price Apple will pay is less than half of that.

Apple's statement made no mention of the purchase price, or gave any indication about what it plans to do with version of the app that function on non-Apple products, such as Android smartphones.