Spotify Sucks At Classical Music, Primephonic Launches with Better Search, Lossless, Per Second Artist Payments

Spotify is not great if you're a fan of classical music. Not only do you have to put up with Drake on your front page, but its search can't tell between the 3572 versions of Beethoven's 5th. Primephonic has launched to solve those problems.

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Primephonic has launched as streaming service specifically designed for classical music fans. Available in the U.S., the UK and Netherlands, the platform features over 1 million classical music tracks, including catalogues from major labels Warner Classics, Sony Classical, Universal Music Classics, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon and EMI, and  over 400 additional labels worldwide.

Pay Per Second

Primephonic also offers a unique payments scheme. It operates on a pay-per-second model to ensure a fairer payments to artist and rights holders that takes in to consideration s the longer duration of classical music works. 

Unique Needs &  Solutions

Classical music listeners are underserved by most streaming services, whose platforms are not designed to support the complexities of the genre. With thousands of composers, thousands of performers, similar titles, multiple movements within those titles, and music that dates back hundreds of years, the classical music streaming problem is a particularly challenging one.

Primephonic is designed to solve those problems with:

• A search functionality designed for classical music allows the listener to search by composer, work, artist, musical period, and genre, offering greater ease of use navigating the vast catalogue of classical music.
• High resolution audio quality (up to 24-bit lossless) with adaptive bit-rate technology powered by Orastream).
• In-depth background information and dynamic content, including many stories and anecdotes about composers, recordings, and artists, to enrich the classical experience.
• Specially curated playlists that dive deeper into every musical curiosity and obsession, from medieval to minimalism, icons and oddballs, for the car or the gym.
• Side-by-side comparison feature that allows the listener to compare different recordings of the same work with a single click, and also explore a complete overview of all recordings of a single work.

“As a classical music lover myself, I have often experienced the frustrations of listening to classical music on today’s existing streaming services,” said Thomas Steffens, CEO, Primephonic. “Streaming has revolutionized the way the world listens to music, but it has failed to revolutionize classical music. There is a strong need among classical listeners for a streaming service that not only delivers an enriching streaming experience, but also to provides a fair revenue model that supports classical artists. Primephonic aims to do just that, and finally usher in a new era for classical music in the digital age.”

Primephonic offers a 30 day free trial, and two subscription tiers. The premium subscription costs $7.99 (MP3 at 320kbps) and the platinum subscription costs $14.99 (up to 24-bit lossless) per month. Primephonic is available now on iOS-supported platforms (mobile and tablet), and will be available on Android-supported platforms in fall 2018.

The Primephonic web player is also available at play.primephonic.com.