Not sure where you've got that from as they've very specifically said you don't need a separate subscription.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Music Classical Now Available for Pre-Order on the App Store, Launches Later This Month
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Not sure where you've got that from as they've very specifically said you don't need a separate subscription.
"classical music artists"....
Classical listeners want to search by composer, ensemble, soloist, conductor... The issue is, these are all categorized as "artists" in the main apps. Where, by the way, some shady behaviour takes place e.g. UMG/Decca claiming lots of "artist profiles" of long-dead composers on Spotify (Shostakovich: blue check!) to flog their own releases in priority to the unsuspecting casual listener.
They might also want to find classical music by era, by family of instrument... things that are not wekll described by the Genre category.
And then once they have found the works they are after they might play a particular movement. Except movements are categorized as "tracks" on streaming services, for lack of a better analogy. And the track names - which include the full composer / ensemble / conductor / soloist / work / movement in the title field on the main platforms, are way too long to be displayed in full on a phone screen, it is therefore impossible to find the movement one wants to play.
The main reason Apple bought Primephonic is that they had built manually and painstakingly an entire new layer of metadata that makes full use of the DDEX / ID3 fields provided by labels and adds a lot of extra granular information. They basically hired music specialists, musicologists, journalists, musicians to enrich manually a data base of metadata arount those works. It's an immense amount of work, and that is probably why they got acquired.
Because the classical people think they're better than the rest of us, and mustn't let their ears accidentally be sullied by our vulgar music.
I'm actually surprised that they'd even stoop so low as an app, lest the digital bits sully their pristine ears unlike their purest and warmest analog vinyl.
Great. Now launch Apple Jazz!
Apple's long-awaited dedicated classical music app today appeared on the App Store and is available for pre-order ahead of its launch at the end of March.
In 2021, Apple announced that it had purchased the classical music streaming service Primephonic and would be folding it into Apple Music via a new app dedicated to the genre. "Apple Music Classical" is now on the App Store and expected to be released on March 28, 2023. Users can pre-order the app now so that it downloads as soon as it is available. It is included for free as part of an Apple Music or Apple One subscription.
Speaking to TechCrunch, Apple said that the new Apple Music Classical app offers Apple Music subscribers access to over five million classical music tracks, including new high-quality releases, in addition to hundreds of curated playlists, thousands of exclusive albums, and other features like composer bios and deep dives on key works.
The app offers a simpler interface for interacting with classical music specifically. Unlike the existing Apple Music app, Apple Music Classical allows users to search by composer, work, conductor, catalog number, and more. Users can get more detailed information from editorial notes and descriptions.
Apple commissioned high-resolution digital portraits of famous composers like Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, and Johann Sebastian Bach for the app, using color palettes and artistic references from the relevant classical period, with more unique artwork to be added over time. Apple says that it has been working with classical music artists and institutions to offer exclusive content and recordings.
Apple Music Classical will only support iOS devices running iOS 15.4 or newer at launch. A version of the app for Android is also set to arrive "soon." Users can track news and updates about the Apple Music Classical on the new @appleclassical Twitter account.
Article Link: Apple Music Classical Now Available for Pre-Order on the App Store, Launches Later This Month
For the heck of it, I just searched "Bernstein Shostakovich" on Apple's music store. It pulled up some albums and some "Songs". The first "song" it pulled up was "O Fortuna!" from Carmina Burana, conducted by John Williams.
I'd call that a swing and a miss.
I’m betting you’ve spent less than 10 minutes listening to classical music in the last year.
I'm hoping it will include a chronological discography for classical performing artists, like Spotify does.I'm in the same boat -- there are composers I just barely know about but want to hear more from. Here's one:
Valentyn Silvestrov - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
If Apple Classical can clue me in on more works from this guy, then it's done me a solid.
Nope nope
NOPE
There was absolutely no need to have separate app and add another bloat to our iOS device. All this could’ve been done under the Music app in a tab. (Just like this could’ve been an email) and stuff like who composed it, all could’ve been integrated to Music app as well. In fact, could be useful for ALL Music.
Don’t like hipster music clogging up? Then Apple Music isn’t the subscription service for you. Use a different one.
As well as providing content in spatial audio and stuff. That stuff costs money in just production but also licensing.
No need. Like I said, should be integrated into Apple Music as separate tab. Adding as another app already adds to bloat.
Yeah I don't get why some people think this app shouldn't exist. It might appeal to a niche, but the existence of an app that's specifically tailored for that niche, no matter how large or small it may be, isn't hurting anyone else. And hey, if you're in the turtleneck and tweed jacket crowd, this thing looks like it'll be jelly for your peanut butter - and good for you for having it.
I'll certainly download it and give it a try. I'm not super into strictly classical music right now, but I have been in the past and, who knows - this may rekindle that interest.
My suspicion though is that this app is going to be fairly limited for casual listeners or for people like me, who are more into newer music, regardless of genre - or more accurately, for whom genre has become so fuzzy as to be mostly irrelevant. That is, I think if you're one of those who became Quite Incensed that Deutsche Grammophon signed Max Richter, then this is going to be your app. Boon for the snoots, but if you want to hear this, then I suspect that you'll still need to find it in the Music app for now, under "pop". Probably, at least - we'll find out soon enough.
I'll certainly download it and give it a try. I'm not super into strictly classical music right now, but I have been in the past and, who knows - this may rekindle that interest.
My suspicion though is that this app is going to be fairly limited for casual listeners or for people like me, who are more into newer music, regardless of genre - or more accurately, for whom genre has become so fuzzy as to be mostly irrelevant. That is, I think if you're one of those who became Quite Incensed that Deutsche Grammophon signed Max Richter, then this is going to be your app. Boon for the snoots, but if you want to hear this, then I suspect that you'll still need to find it in the Music app for now, under "pop". Probably, at least - we'll find out soon enough.
Awesome! Searching for classical is so frustrating, especially when you want something specific. This is fantastic and will keep me on Apple Music for a long time.
Don't want it? Then don't download it.
You do know this app isn’t required? You can safely ignore it if you want.
Exactly this. Apple Music has always felt like a bit of a kludge when it comes to organizing and searching for classical music. In addition, many of us listen to classical music fairly differently from the way we listen to rock, pop, etc. Having a different app has the potential to optimize both of those things. I’m really excited about this and can’t wait to try it!
Man that’s a great very clear well written reply,but I’m afraid most of these questions are better ignored since no explanation will be accepted.
Relax. You don't need to download it. Classical music should still be in the Music app.
Fixed that for you 😉
If you know...you know.
I'm not so sure "rather than" is true here. Yes, Apple Music could use a lot of work. But also, they bought a separate classical music service and have built a new app around that. Not sure that means they can't work on the original app at the same time.
They *could* work on the Music app, and I hope they do, but for most genres it's at least workable, and that's why they haven't put any effort into improving it lately -- like Siri, it's not broken, just underwhelming, part of Apple's pattern of leading on hardware and trailing on software. Except for classical (and jazz, also metadata heavy), for which it *is* broken, effectively dysfunctional right out of the box the instant you stray out of the top hundred or so works.
Maybe because it's not really a "genre" and follows structural conventions established centures before the recorded music you're comparing it to?
In my case, to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU AT LAST
You have a real chip on your shoulder about such a tired cliche. A pity. You completely don’t understand the use case of the app, which is fine because we all have this with different apps, but the strong yet utterly unsubstantiated opinions and in this thread are really strange.
