See a piece of art you like and want to know more about it ? Soon you could 'Shazam ' it . Shazam , the app created to recognise an artist from a few seconds of music , says it wants to branch out into identifying objects , such as food , paintings and books . The London-based company behind . the mobile app has raised $ 30 million from several unidentified billionaires to finance the change . Shazam , the app created to recognise an artist from a few seconds of music , says it wants to branch out into identifying objects , such as food , paintings and books . 'Shazam is already a verb , ' chief executive Rich Riley told Reuters at the Mobile World Congress industry fair in Barcelona . 'We want to expand the universe of . what you can Shazam ' The latest funding comes on top of $ 40 million raised . from Mexican telecoms billionaire Carlos Slim in 2013 . Riley said these additional funds would help the . venture-capital backed company add to its 250-strong staff and . sign additional partnerships with publishers and content . companies . The London-based company behind the mobile app has raised $ 30 million from several unidentified billionaires to finance the change . The company has yet to reveal details about how it would work , but one possibility is that such a service would work based on bar codes . 'The famous blue button that our users love will remain on . the home screen but will be able to do much more , ' he said . Just in time for spring , scientists hope to launch a 'Shazam for birds ' that will help people identify the tweets that are waking them up in the morning . The app , dubbed Warblr , claims to be able to recognise the song of 88 bird species , and could help track their migration patterns . Like Shazam , it works by recording nearby noises on smartphones to analyse it in real-time and identify the bird species according to its tweet . Whenever the app identifies a bird , geo-tracking allows it to map which species is being spotted where and when , with the information made public . The information will be made publicly available to allow zoologists and ecologists monitor species growth and decline , as well as patterns of migration . The company has yet to reveal details about how it would work , but one possibility is that such a service would work based on bar codes . This would make it similar to Amazon ’ s Fire phone which can already identify products by scanning these codes . Shazam has evolved markedly since 1999 when it was founded , . gaining popularity with its ability to recognise a piece of . music with the click of a button on the phone . It now sells . songs that its users identify , having secured deals with all the . major streaming music services including Spotify and Deezer . Lately it has also become a port of call for advertisers who . want to find ways to instantly link up with their target . audiences . Although Shazam does not disclose its revenues or other . financials , it says the latest funding round valued it at over . $ 1 billion . It also has the attributes of a listed company , Riley said , . such as a strong brand , scale and revenue , although the company . is not yet profitable since it is still seeking to grow . 'Our business model is real and developed , not to be . determined like so many web apps or start-ups , ' he said .
London - based Shazam has pledged $ 30 million to finance the change . It will allow app to purchase objects , such as furniture , paintings and sculptures . The company has yet to provide details about how exactly it will work .