Apple is getting into classical music streaming with Primephonic purchase

Apple is making a big move in the realm of classical music today, announcing that it has acquired classical music streaming service Primephonic. That, obviously, means Apple is looking to soup up the classical music offerings of Apple Music, as Primephonic will apparently be shut down and relaunched as a standalone Apple Music Classical app. Unfortunately for current Primephonic users, there seems to be a rather large gap between that shutdown and eventual relaunch.

Classical music fans know that classical music discovery can sometimes be difficult in mainstream music apps. Primephonic seems to exist to fill that gap, offering both search and browse functions that have been optimized specifically for classical music along with expert recommendations. Those don't seem to be going away, and in fact, instead of integrating Primephonic's tools with Apple Music proper, Apple is going to launch a standalone app dedicated to classical music sometime next year.

When that classical music app launches, it'll use Primephonic's interface and discovery tools, which includes "better browsing and search capabilities by composer and by repertoire, detailed displays of classic music metadata, plus new features and benefits" according to Apple's announcement today.

Sadly, Apple is taking Primephonic offline quickly – the service is already unavailable to new subscribers, and on September 7th, Apple will shut down Primephonic permanently. With Apple's dedicated classical music app not expected until next year, that leaves at least a several-month gap before current Primephonic subscribers have the service's tools back in their hands.

In the meantime, Apple is giving current Primephonic customers six months of Apple Music for free, so while that may not be the perfect stand-in, at least Primephonic users aren't being left high and dry without any streaming service at all. We'll let you know when Apple reveals its standalone classical music app next year, so stay tuned for more.