Audio recognition app maker Shazam appointed a new chief revenue officer as it ramps up its efforts to tap into a broader range of media areas.
Originally best known for its music recognition services, the company has recently increased its presence in the television market, working with advertisers to deliver interactive campaigns, and in the US market enabling audio recognition of TV broadcasts.
As part of the efforts to expand beyond the company’s original remit, new appointee Kevin McGurn (pictured) is charged with “driving Shazam’s global television and mobile advertising sales and spearheading the expansion of key partnerships”.
It is hoped Mc
Gurn’s experience with digital and traditional video companies will aid Shazam’s efforts to grow globally. He was previously senior VP of advertising sales at Hulu, and before that led the national advertising and media business at NBC Universal’s NBBC, a venture marketplace for digital video syndication.
Relationships that McGurn will be expected to strengthen include those with music labels, OEMs, platforms, operators, broadcasters and global brands.
“Our ongoing work with leading brands and agencies will be a key revenue driver, and Kevin will be instrumental to growing and scaling Shazam’s business,” said Shazam CEO Rich Riley.
For his part, McGurn added that Shazam “provides an outstanding platform on which to build new partnerships and drive new revenue opportunities”.
Riley was appointed as CEO in April to “accelerate the company’s growth trajectory”, with outgoing CEO Andrew Fisher outlining the company’s ambitions for an IPO.
UK-headquartered Shazam has 75 million monthly active users and 375 million global users, with the service recently tagging its 10 billionth item of media.
It has claimed that its apps contribute more than $300 million in annual digital music sales, around 10 per cent of the entire digital music industry. It is expanding its operations in New York, London and Los Angeles.
Mexico-based operator group America Movil invested $40 million in Shazam in July to take a 10.8 per cent stake as part of “a strategic business collaboration for the Americas”. Shazam said the funds will “help accelerate Shazam’s ongoing growth in music, continued expansion into television and the development of innovative new products”.
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