Shazam launched seven years ago with technology that allows people to find out the name of a song and an artist by holding their mobile phone up to a speaker.
The number of people who have used the service since launch has by grown by 15m in the past eight months to 50m, the company announced alongside the investment from Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byers (KPCB).
Shazam will use the money to expand its potential user base by continuing to develop applications for additional mobile platforms and launching it in more languages.
Mobile apps are helping to drive its growth and its iPhone app has had more than 10m downloads since the summer of 2008.
The sum invested has not been disclosed but it has come from KPCB's $100m iFund, which is focused on funding companies developing businesses around mobile platforms.
This is KPCB's first investment in Britain and it joins existing Shazam investors Acacia Capital and DN Capital.
Matt Murphy, manager of the iFund, said: "We've met hundreds of companies and received thousands of mobile app business plans, but none have distinguished themselves on par with Shazam."
Shazam earns money in a range of ways. Non-smartphone users pay 50p to use its service on a one-off basis.
Its smartphone app is free to users but charges them for a premium service and shares revenues when users buy a song through the app. It also takes advertising on the app and this week .
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