How Shazam went from a 4-digit Phone Number to $400m with Chris Barton, Founder episode artwork

EPISODE · Dec 29, 2025 · 40 MIN

How Shazam went from a 4-digit Phone Number to $400m with Chris Barton, Founder

from Modern CTO · host ProSeries Media

Shazam struggled to turn any profit for 6 straight years. But then the App Store changed everything. Today, we're talking to Chris Barton, Founder of Shazam. We discuss why they built a music recognition app eight years before the App Store launched, how they survived six consecutive years of near bankruptcy, and why eliminating the right friction is the key to massive user adoption. All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast!  To learn more about what Chris is up to, check out his website here.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Dec 29, 2025

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How Shazam went from a 4-digit Phone Number to $400m with Chris Barton, Founder

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