Shazam is one of those veterans of the mobile industry so we were
interested to catch up with CEO Andrew Fisher to find out where the
company stands today.  Its now working with 50 operators in 45 countries, with its music
recognition application typically pre-loaded on to mobile phones,
making it easy for users to identify a song they hear, simply by
launching the application and holding the phone up to the speaker. 
Once the user has identified the song, they can buy it as a download,
read reviews and  recommendations, or search the 4 million-strong
Shazam database for other songs.
The real value we offer is connecting buyers and sellers of music in
the most efficient way, says Fisher. Mobile is all about immediacy.
Shazam helps people buy music at the point of inspiration.
Shazam has also just launched a music and video download service for
Vodafone UK customers, in conjunction with a company called Vidzone,
that will make around 2 million songs and music videos available for
1.69 (plus 30p for the data download) for a video, and 1.30 (plus
20p) for a full track song download. Users on a data plan will not be
charged for the data download.
We think this a landmark deal, says Fisher. For the first time, UK
consumers have transparent pricing for an off-portal download. It will
have really big implications for all off-deck services, because pricing
and bill shock are a real concern to consumers.
When we first heard about Shazam around 2000, we thought the technology
and the idea behind the company were fantastic. Eight years on, its
good to see theyre still going strong.