Primephonic was a classical musicstreaming service that was acquired by Apple in 2021. Envisioned as a supplement to major streaming services, Primephonic aimed to address the classical music niche with search features customized for the genre, hand-coded metadata, and compensation for artists based on time streamed, not tracks played.[1] Access to the service ultimately ceased in September 2021.[2]
History
In 2020, Henrique Boregio, the company's chief technology officer (CTO), stated that a majority of Primephonic's users "are age 55 plus and are highly educated and relatively well off".[3]
On August 30, 2021, Apple Inc. announced that they had acquired the company. Access to the service was ended on September 7, 2021.[2] On March 28, 2023, Apple released Apple Music Classical—a secondary app for Apple Music subscribers that incorporates similar features.[4] The app uses much of the music and data from Primephonic.[5]
Gelt, Jessica (September 11, 2018). "Roll over, Beethoven, you're streaming now; Primephonic offers classical music fans million-plus tracks at their fingertips". Los Angeles Times. p. E.3. ISSN0458-3035. ProQuest2101736526.
