Music discovery app company Shazam has announced its app is being preloaded onto handsets from vendor LG Electronics, with the worldwide rollout starting in Europe with the vendor’s Optimus GT540 smartphone – further markets and handsets will follow “in the coming months.” The device includes the Android version of the Shazam handset client.

LG customers will get a seven-day free trial of the premium Encore version of Shazam, which allows for unlimited song tagging. After this, it will revert to the basic version, which has a five-tag-per-month limit, unless customers pay for a £2.99 (EUR3.63) one-time upgrade fee.

Since launch eight years ago Shazam has been used by over 75 million people and is now available on Google’s Android Market, Apple’s App Store, BlackBerry App World, Nokia’s Ovi Store and Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace for Mobile, as well as across Symbian, Brew and Java platforms. Shazam is believed to be profitable after raising around US$20 million, generating revenue through several methods, including taking a cut on advertising revenue, earning a fee when customers buy a song using the application and by people paying to subscribe to a premium service. Today’s deal with the world’s third-largest handset vendor will give Shazam increased market exposure.