Apple has announced, via a press release, that it has acquired the classical music streaming service, Primephonic. In a statement on their web site, Primephonic states:
Three years ago, Primephonic was launched to create a better future for classical music by addressing the challenges and complexities of the genre for the streaming era. We felt compelled to develop a streaming service that truly gets classical right—so that’s what we did over the last 3 years. But to fully achieve the next phase of our mission, we need to bring our classical streaming expertise to millions of listeners worldwide.
As a new music service, dedicated only to classical music, Primephonic had an uphill task gaining subscribers. Aiming to reach the majority of global classical music listeners, including people who listen to multiple genres, they concluded that the best way forward would be to partner with an existing music service, in this case, Apple.
For Apple, they gain “an 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.” In recent months, the Roon Labs music library management and streaming software has considerably improved their interface for classical music listeners, allowing much finer-grained searching and management of one’s library, those features including the existing Qobuz and TIDAL integration. Classical music listeners who are now considering Apple Music for lossless audio streaming will definitely welcome “a significantly improved classical music experience beginning with Primephonic playlists and exclusive audio content” integrated into Apple’s software.
Primephonic, which is no longer taking new subscribers, will be taken offline starting September 7. Existing users will get pro-rated refunds and 6 months of Apple Music for free. Apple states that they plan to launch a dedicated classical music app next year which combines Primephonic’s classical user interface with more added features.
