Apple has acquired Primephonic, a classical music streaming service.
The addition of Primephonic aims to improve Apple Music subscribers’ classical music experience with Primephonic playlists and exclusive audio content. The new features include browsing by composer and by repertoire, and detailed displays of classical music metadata.
“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,” said Thomas Steffens, Primephonic’s co-founder and CEO. “We get to bring classical music to the mainstream and connect a new generation of musicians with the next generation of audience.”
Primephonic is no longer available for new subscribers and will be taken offline beginning Sept. 7. Apple Music plans to launch a dedicated classical music app next year combining Primephonic’s classical user interface with more added features. Current Primephonic subscribers will receive six months of Apple Music for free, providing access to hundreds of thousands of classical albums.