• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, December 13, 2016

Simply by holding a finger down on their smartphone screens, Snapchat users can now use Shazam to identify any song within earshot.

Per a new partnership between the two tech companies, Snapchat users can send recognized songs -- up to 16 at a time, in fact -- to their contacts. The new feature is part of a broader update to the Snapchat app, which also that brings group messaging to the platform.

Groups can be created while sending a snap, or when users are making a new “chat.” When their friends are present in a Group Chat, the app will display their names at the bottom of the Chat. Users can simply tap their name to start a 1:1 chat, and then return to the Group in one swipe.

“We call this Quick Chat, and it’s the fastest way to keep the conversation going with one friend without spamming the entire Group,” Snapchat parent Snap Inc. notes in a new blog post.

This week, Snap is also introducing two new creative tools: Scissors and Paintbrush. Scissors can be used to cut out part of a Snap on the Preview Screen to turn it into a sticker, while Paintbrush can be applied to Snaps in Memories, and turns a Snap into something akin to an artistic experience.

Snap Inc. has reportedly filed for its IPO, last month. Expected as early as March 2017, the social darling is hoping to raise upwards of $4 billion at a valuation of $25 billion to $35 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

A quiet filing isn’t uncommon in Silicon Valley -- particularly when companies have yet to generate a ton of revenue. Twitter took a similar approach, in 2013.

Standing in stark contrast to struggling social networks like Twitter, Snapchat is presently thriving. Indeed, despite direct competition from Facebook and other tech giants, the company is positioned for “explosive” growth in ad revenue over the next few years, per eMarketer.

The research predicts the playful messaging app will generate $366.69 million in ad revenues this year. That figure is expected to jump to $935.46 million, next year.

Cathy Boyle, principal analyst at eMarketer, recently said Snapchat’s bright outlook has everything to do with its young user base. “Advertisers are attracted to Snapchat for its broad reach among young Millennials and those in Generation Z, which are valuable demographic groups for many businesses,” Boyle notes in a new report.

To its credit, Snapchat has also tailored its ad strategy specifically for this easy-to-alienate demographic.

“To engage those often hard-to-reach consumers, Snapchat has expanded its advertising portfolio over the past year to include a wider array of video ads and more sponsored geo-filters and sponsored lenses,” according to Boyle.

Stateside, Snapchat’s Discover feature generates 43% of ad revenue, which is its largest single share, according to eMarketer.

Next year, however, the research firm expects Stories to overtakes Discover as the dominant ad revenue source -- by generating 37.8% of the company’s domestic ad revenue.

Having launched its ad platform in mid-2015, Snapchat still only captures 2.3% of social-networking dollars, eMarketer estimates. That’s despite the fact it now commands 36% of the market in terms of domestic users.