Apple Buys Music Streaming Service, Primephonic

Apple Music is expanding its classical music offerings. Apple said today that it has purchased Primephonic, a classical music streaming service, and will integrate the app’s functions and playlists into Apple Music. According to Apple, the outcome will be a “much better classical music experience.” In the year 2022, Apple Music will release a standalone classical app.

Primephonic is no longer accepting new clients, and the service as it currently stands will be discontinued on September 7th. Primephonic’s playlists and “unique audio material” will be the first to be integrated into Apple Music, according to Apple. It will eventually include “all of Primephonic’s best features, including improved browsing and search capabilities by composer and repertoire, detailed displays of classical music metadata, and new features and benefits,” according to the company.

Apple said “a dedicated classical music app” would come next year, using Primephonic’s “classical user interface that fans have grown to adore,” demonstrating how serious the corporation is about catering to classical music enthusiasts.

Primephonic was founded three years ago, and the company’s leadership claims that this purchase is about scale and reaching a larger audience. “As a classical-only startup, we are unable to reach the majority of worldwide classical fans, particularly those who listen to a variety of other music genres,” the business noted on its website. “As a result, we came to the conclusion that in order to accomplish our purpose, we needed to team up with a prominent streaming service that covers all music genres and also shares our love for classical music.” Customers with an active membership will receive a prorated refund, according to Primephonic’s FAQ.

They’ll also receive a voucher for six months of free Apple Music. The purchase expands Apple Music’s collection of over 75 million songs and complements the platform’s existing classical music offerings. Spotify offers a library of almost 70 million songs.

Next year, Apple aims to release a classical music-focused app based on Primephonic’s existing user experience. On September 7, Apple will deactivate Primephonic, and current users will receive six months of Apple Music for free. In 2014, Apple paid $3 billion for streaming music provider and headphone manufacturer Beats, and in 2017, it paid $400 million for song-identification service Shazam. In 2018, Apple purchased Platoon, a business that helps people discover new artists.