Apple has announced that is has acquired Primephonic, a service that specializes in streaming classical music. It will incorporate the app’s functionality and playlists into Apple Music. According to Apple, it will result in “a significantly improved classical music experience.” They added that there will be a standalone Apple Music classical app that will be launched sometime in 2022.
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Apple has said that Primephonic’s playlists and “exclusive audio content” will be first to be integrated into Apple Music. Over time it will add “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.”
Primephonic has notified its users that it will no longer be accepting new customers, effective immediately, and that the service will shut down on September 7th. Customers with an active subscription will receive a prorated refund, as well as a code to redeem six free months of Apple Music.
Primephonic only launched three years ago, and it decided to sell to Apple in order to grow at scale to reach more listeners passionate about classical music. “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.”
Streaming services have helped genres like classical music to grow again. There weren’t many places left where one could listen to classical music on a regular bases. Putting it at listeners’ fingertips through streaming services has revived the industry, with classical instruments also selling faster than ever.
