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Business News Digital Labels & Publishers
Universal launches classical music subscription service around its Deutsche Grammophon label
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 22 November 2022
Universal Music’s classical label Deutsche Grammophon yesterday launched its own online subscription service called Stage+ offering a load of audio, video and livestreams.
The major says that the new service will bring subscribers “closer than ever before” to its roster of classical artists with “a wide range of content – including exclusive live premieres; long-form concert and opera programmes; music videos; documentaries and behind-the-scenes interviews; new audio releases, as well as albums from the legendary Deutsche Grammophon and Decca catalogues”.
Says Deutsche Grammophon’s VP Consumer Business, Robert Zimmermann: “We are about to enter an exciting new era for streamed classical performances. Stage+ will explore the limitless creative and curatorial possibilities that digital technologies have to offer to bring the creative work of DG’s artists – and beyond – closer to their audience”.
The mainstream streaming services have never really provided a compelling experience for classical music fans, although Apple is developing a standalone classical app following its acquisition of Primephonic last year. That said, Universal says that Stage+ is intended to complement rather than compete with the streaming services that it also licenses its catalogues to.
Dickon Stainer – President and CEO of Universal’s Global Classics & Jazz and Verve Label Group – explains: “Stage+ uniquely immerses the fan in a dedicated multi-dimensional classical experience of the highest quality, complementing the breadth of our repertoire presented on our partners’ services. It offers artists the place for their live and filmed performances to sit directly alongside their studio recordings, enabling an integrated experience for classical artist discovery by devoted fans of the genre”.
