Future of Music Is Here: Apple defends Apple Musical Classical app

Recently, the Apple Music Classical app became available for pre-order on the App Store. A follow up info from Apple reveals that it would officially launch this App today. The app is starting to go global and this will happen after the official launch. Earlier this month, we had some sort of proof from Apple regarding its classical music app. At the time, the company revealed that the Apple Music Classical will launch on March 28. It also reveals that the app will have no less than 5 million tracks. It will also include thousands of exclusive albums, more.

Here are some of the features of the app as listed by apple

• The world’s largest classical music catalog with over 5 million tracks and works from new releases to celebrated masterpieces.
• Thousands of exclusive albums.
• The ability to search by composer, work, conductor, or even catalog number, and find specific recordings instantly.
• The highest audio quality (up to 192 kHz/24 bit Hi-Res Lossless) with thousands of recordings in immersive spatial audio.
• Complete and accurate metadata to make sure you know exactly what work and which artist is playing.
• Thousands of editorial notes including composer biographies, descriptions of key works, and more.

With respect to this app, the company said

“Apple Music Classical is the ultimate classical experience with hundreds of curated playlists, thousands of exclusive albums, insightful composer biographies, deep-dive guides for many key works, intuitive browsing features and much more,”

The good news is that if you currently have an Apple Music package, there is no extra charge. The service was previously available through Primephonic for $14.99.  The launch has been expected for a while.. Apple first unveiled the deal in 2021. At the time, it was said that Apple Music Classical would debut “in the coming months,” which we suppose is technically correct.

Apple explains why it released the Apple Music Classical app

Today, Apple released a support article showing the logic behind the choice of a stand-alone Apple Music Classical app for classical music. Apple explains that the program was created to support the intricate metadata for classical music. The company said

Classical music is different. It has longer and more detailed titles, multiple artists for each work, and hundreds of recordings of well-known pieces. The Apple Music Classical app is designed to support the complex data structure of classical music.

At the moment, the company has a new Apple Music Classical page where it further explains in details why this is needed

Classical music often involves multiple musicians recording works that have been recorded many times before and are referred to by different names. For example, from the formal Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 to the popular byname of Moonlight Sonata, or in multiple languages, such as Mondschein Sonata in German. Such complexities mean that classic music fans have been ill-served by streaming platforms. Until now. A distinct app, included with an Apple Music sub, gives these classic music lovers the editorial and catalog content they’ve been missing.

Only a brand-new app — with specialized features and a beautiful interface designed for the genre — could remove the complexity and make classical music easily searchable, browsable, and accessible for beginners and experts alike.

Apple has been doing a lot of explaining and you ma wonder why. This is due to the fact that some Apple fans are not happy with the new app. In the new support doc, the company handles most of the issues that people have and often ask. The merger of the of this new classical music app with the main Apple Music app is a major topic of discuss. Some users laments that it is not much better than Apple Music thus there is no need for it. Also, the app was auto loaded to some iPhones and this seems to be getting some users angry. One user laments that loading this app into his iPad was gross. He calls on Apple to also launch an iPad version of this app.

Apple also posted a YouTube video trying to promote the app. See the video below

With a basic Apple Music service with iOS 15.4 and later, the new app offers more than five million classic music tracks and is free to access. The app is based on Primephonic, a streaming service for classic music that Apple purchased in 2021. At launch, the app is only ready for the iPhone. However, there are reports that an Android version of this app will hit the public pretty soon. Android users who love classic music will have to wait a short while.

Apple buys Primephonic

The reputed classic digital music service, Primephonic, which offers a notable audio quality with search and browse features was bought by Apple back in 2021. This audio service company is optimized for classical music and it uses experts to make recommendations. It has a massive and rich contextual info on the available works and audio files.

Primephonic will greatly boost the classic music audio experience for Apple Music users. It has the Primephonic playlists and exclusive audio content. Fans of classic music will receive a custom experience with the best Primephonic features in the coming months. This includes better browsing and search functions by composer and by repertoire. There will also be in-depth displays of classical music metadata, as well as new features and perks.

Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats said

“We love and have a deep respect for classical music, and Primephonic has become a fan favorite for classical enthusiasts,” … “Together, we’re bringing great new classic features to Apple Music, and in the near future, we’ll deliver a dedicated classic experience that will truly be the best in the world.”

The new app’s main benefit will be a much better and cohesive search. This will enable searches for records of certain concerts, which is a major flaw of Apple Music.  If it is already Tuesday in your time zone, you may download the new classical music app right away. If not, you can pre-order it and get an email when it becomes available. So, what do you think about the new app? Will you like to try it out or you do not think it ought to be in the shelves? Does it work just fine for all your Apple device (iPhone, iPad and others)? Let us know your ideas in the comment section below