Apple announces huge push into classical music, standalone app launching in 2022

In a bid to expand its classical music offering, Apple recently announced that it has acquired classical music streaming service Primephonic and will launch an app dedicated to the genre in 2022. As per The Verge, the tech giant stated that it will incorporate the app's functionality and playlists into Apple Music.

The result will be "a significantly improved classical music experience," Apple said. There will also be a standalone Apple Music classical app coming sometime in 2022. Effective immediately, Primephonic is no longer accepting new customers, and the service as it exists today will shut down on September 7.

Apple says Primephonic's playlists and "exclusive audio content" will be the first to be integrated into Apple Music. Down the line, it'll 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." In a show of how serious Apple is about appealing to classical fans, the company says "a dedicated classical music app" will launch next year that will use Primephonic's "classical user interface that fans have grown to love."

Primephonic launched three years ago, and its team says this deal is about scale and reaching more listeners. "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," the company wrote in a note on its webpage.

"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," the company added. According to Primephonic's FAQ, customers with an active subscription will receive a prorated refund. They will also be getting a code to redeem six free months of Apple Music.