Co-founder of MTV joins Shazam board

John Sykes to bring 25 years of music biz nous to discovery company.

Sykes co-founded MTV and also served as president of VH1 from 1994-2002. Later, he was CEO of Infinity Broadcasting, overseeing 185 radio stations.

“John has shaped popular culture for more than 25 years and has been a key influencer in changing the way millions of people consume media around the world” said Andrew Fisher, CEO of Shazam.

“His expertise in building global consumer brands founded on media and entertainment is invaluable and fits perfectly with our mission to establish Shazam as the world’s leading brand for mobile discovery.”

Sykes said: “Shazam is one of those rare magical brands that changes the way consumers interact with entertainment,

“I can see many parallels with the formative years of MTV and Shazam is uniquely positioned for the convergence of mobile, broadcast media and advertising.”
 
Shazam recently announced that its service had reached the 100 million user milestone and that it identifies more than three million tracks per day.