IT'S SIRI-OUS: APPLE BUYS SHAZAM

Shazam has confirmed that it's becoming part of Apple.

“Shazam is one of the highest-rated apps in the world and loved by hundreds of millions of users and we can’t imagine a better home for Shazam to enable us to continue innovating and delivering magic for our users,” the company said in a statement.

“Since the launch of the App Store, Shazam has consistently ranked as one of the most popular apps for iOS," Apple 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."

Tech Crunch reported that the deal could be valued as high as $400m. The music-recognition app, which enables TV viewers, Uber passengers, bar patrons and others to identify songs on their phones without the embarrassment of asking someone, is an ideal fit for the iPhone maker, which should find plenty of innovative uses for Shazam's Siri-friendly tech.

The latter, which enjoys strategic investment from UMG, Sony and WMG owner Len Blavatnik's Access Industries, announced last year that it had passed the 1 billion downloads mark. Rumors of a potential Shazam purchase have been swirling for some time.

Shazam and Apple have previously played nicely together, with one successful feature putting users' Shazamed tracks directly into Apple Music as a playlist. This deal, if confirmed, would certainly give Cupertino's streaming app a leg up on the competition.

Neither company has offered any comments on how it will affect Shazam’s long relationship with Spotify, Apple Music’s competitor. Stay tuned.