The Amsterdam-based service was founded only a few years ago in 2018, targeting a niche group of enthusiasts. Niche indeed, as the genre only makes up 1% of the total music consumed in the United States.
Amongst fierce competition, the app stands out from the crowd by having a high level of specificity in its input. The app lets you search for musicians and albums, as well as more specific metadata such as the composer, conductor, soloist, or the choir, all of which are put together manually by Primephonic’s employees. For starters, the acquisition will see some of Primephonic’s features appear in the Apple Music app soon including its playlists and exclusive content. Not surprisingly, Apple is also planning to adapt Primephonics’ search and browsing capabilities that have been highly optimised to the classical genre.
Interesting enough, Apple has also announced that a dedicated classical music app is already in the works with a planned release date of 2022. The app will combine Primephonic’s user interface with additional new features. Primephonic has now stopped taking new members and a notice on its website says that it will completely shut down on 7 September. Existing subscribers of the service will receive a prorated refund and a code to redeem six free months of Apple Music. (Sources: Apple, Primephonic. Original Image: Gabriel Santos Fotografia / Pexels.)
