from Apple:
Following the acquisition of Primephonic, Apple Music will soon improve the streaming experience for classical music fans. Apple’s plans to expand its classical music offerings in Apple Music will include a standalone app dedicated to the genre.
“Outstanding listening experience with search and browse functionality optimized for classical, premium-quality audio, handpicked expert recommendations, and extensive contextual details on repertoire and recordings,” as per Primephonic.
Apple/Apple Music will feature “Primephonic playlists and exclusive audio content,” according to the company. Subscribers will also have access to “enhance browsing and search capabilities by composer and repertoire, comprehensive displays of classical music metadata, and new features and benefits”.
Primephonic is currently unavailable to new subscribers and will be decommissioned on September 7, and Primephonic has already been removed from the App Store.
has its own article for current users of the $14.99/month service, outlining what happens next for the now-defunct classical music service:
As a classical-only startup, we can not reach the majority of global classical listeners, especially those that listen to many other music genres as well. We therefore concluded that in order to achieve our mission, we need to partner with a leading streaming service that encompasses all music genres and also shares our love for classical music. Today, we are therefore thrilled to share a great step forward in our mission – Primephonic is joining Apple Music!
We are working on an amazing new classical music experience from Apple for early next year, but unfortunately, the Primephonic service will be taken offline starting September 7. You may continue to use it at no charge until then.
Check your email for more details about your 6 month free trial on Apple Music, your refund and more.
Primephonic co-founder and CEO Thomas Steffens said, “Artists love the Primephonic service and what we’ve done in classical, and now we have the ability to join with Apple to deliver the absolute best experience to millions of listeners.” “We get to connect a new generation of musicians with a new generation of audience by bringing classical music to the mainstream.”
Apple/Apple Music aims to release a dedicated classical music app next year that combines Primephonic’s UI with Apple’s brand, but in the meanwhile, current Primephonic members may get six months of Apple Music for free.
“With the addition of Primephonic, Apple Music subscribers will get a significantly improved classical music experience beginning with Primephonic playlists and exclusive audio content,” Apple said.
The company advertised that the new product will show better browsing and search capabilities, more classical music metadata details, and boast new features and benefits.
“Three years ago, Primephonic was launched to help classical music have a brighter future by solving the genre’s issues and complications in the streaming era,” the company claimed. “We felt obliged to create a streaming service that actually does classical right, so that’s what we’ve been working on for the past three years.”
However, in order to properly achieve the next part of our mission, we must make our classical streaming expertise available to millions of listeners around the world — this, Apple/Apple Music comes into the picture.
