Business News Deals Digital

Apple boosts classical music credentials by buying Primephonic

By | Published on Tuesday 31 August 2021

Apple Music

Apple is looking to woo all those classical music fans by buying up Primephonic, a steaming service specifically focused on the genre. The acquisition will be used to launch a bespoke Apple app for classical music streaming, although in the short term Primephonic users will be shifted over to the main Apple Music service. Which might be where the whole wooing plan falls down.

For various reasons, the more mainstream streaming services like Apple Music aren’t particularly great if you primarily listen to classical music. Which created a gap in the market that Primephonic sought to fill. Now Apple hopes to use its new acquisition’s genre expertise to do that gap filling itself, initially by doing classical better within its main music app, and then by launching the genre-specific app.

“With the addition of Primephonic, Apple Music subscribers will get a significantly improved classical music experience beginning with Primephonic playlists and exclusive audio content”, the tech giant said when announcing the deal.

“In the coming months”, it added, “Apple Music Classical fans will get a dedicated experience with the best features of Primephonic, including better browsing and search capabilities by composer and by repertoire, detailed displays of classical music metadata, plus new features and benefits”.

Confirming the deal, Apple Music VP Oliver Schusser said: “We love and have a deep respect for classical music, and Primephonic has become a fan favourite for classical enthusiasts. Together, we’re bringing great new classical features to Apple Music, and in the near future, we’ll deliver a dedicated classical experience that will truly be the best in the world”.

Meanwhile, Primephonic co-Founder and CEO Thomas Steffens added: “Bringing the best of Primephonic to Apple Music subscribers is a tremendous development for the classical music industry. 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 bring classical music to the mainstream and connect a new generation of musicians with the next generation of audience”.

The standalone Primephonic service will go offline from 7 Sep. Apple is hoping that adding Primephonic playlists and exclusives to its main music app – and allowing Primephonic subscribers to use it all for free for the next six months – will keep said subscribers happy until the bespoke classical app is ready.



READ MORE ABOUT: | |