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Shazam debuts Android app across Europe

Mobile music discovery provider Shazam has launched a mobile application across Europe on Google's Android platform, following a launch in Britain and the United States last year.

Shazam lets consumers identify music by holding their mobile phone towards an unknown song and "tagging" a track. Consumers can then buy tracks through the Amazon MP3 store, automatically access more information and become friends with artists through their MySpace pages.

"Demand for Shazam by mobile users has never been stronger, and expanding the availability of our technology for Android users throughout new markets across Europe is an important step in extending our reach and meeting the demands of mobile music lovers around the globe," said Andrew Fisher, CEO of Shazam, London.

"As a result of this move and the unique capabilities of Shazam on the Android platform, we will ultimately help to drive music sales and connect artists with new fans as the mobile music space continues to thrive," he said.

Shazam launched on the Android platform in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland.

Shazam appeals to a young demographic, although mobile music is starting to reach a wider audience.

"Shazam offers premium music discovery services on mobile devices with a simple goal: Help anyone discover music while they're out living life, and make it easy for them to capture and share those music moments wherever they are," Mr. Fisher said.

"While we get amazing feedback from users of all ages, our sweet spot is currently 18 -- 35-year-olds, predominately mobile savvy, into social networks, creating digital life caches and with very keen interest in music," he said.

"It is still too early to comment on our ad-enabled application, since we only enabled the [mobile advertising] capability at the turn of the New Year."

Shazam claims that it was the third most popular application when the Android Marketplace launched. It has since generated more than 6,000 reviewers giving it a 4.5-stars-out-of-5 rating.

Shazam's music database includes 8 million tracks. The Android application blends music discovery with individual music tastes and social experiences.

Shazam consumers can access music from every corner of the globe and every era, including the latest pre-release and local music, on their mobile phone.

With the launch of applications for both the iPhone and the Android platform, Shazam is raising the profile of mobile social music.

Shazam is a mobile music discovery application, letting consumers experience and share music with others across mobile devices and the Internet.

Shazam's services bolster the music strategies of more than 75 carriers across 60 markets worldwide, including AT&T, T-Mobile and Vodafone.

"The mobile music market continues to soar and evolve, as evidenced by wide consumer use of a variety of mobile music technologies and applications, more digital music retailers such as iTunes offering over-the-air downloads and more start-ups constantly entering or expanding into the space," Mr. Fisher said.

"We believe that music discovery on mobile phones is the key to driving more digital music purchases, ringtone downloads, concert tickets, merchandise and more, as the industry is no longer relying on music sales alone to drive profits and revenue," he said.

"The mobile music business will be a key contributor to growth, sales and overall artist awareness and fan excitement as we head into 2009 and beyond."