Apple's Shazam grew its user base in 2018 while also turning a profit

Last year was a milestone year for Shazam. Not only was it scooped up by Apple late in 2018, it also saw its overall user base and profit grow from the previous year.

According to Billboard, Shazam's user base grew from 400 million active users in 2017 to 478 million users in 2018. During the same period, its profit (before taxation) came in at $158.4 million as opposed to the $19.4 million it lost in 2017.

One area it did decline was in revenue. It earned $34.8 million compared to $44.8 million the previous year. However, that decline is attributed to the fact that Apple removed all ads from the free version of the app in September 2018, digging into the revenue.

Regardless, it was a good year for Shazam. Following the $400 million purchase by Apple, the service was more closely integrated into Apple's services, including Apple Music. Apple launched a new "Shazam Discovery Top 50" playlist and incorporated Shazam data into Apple Music letting musicians access deeper data and analytics.