Just unveiled, the Apple Music Classical application appears as a second music streaming service launched by the Apple brand. A rather strange idea in appearance, but which can be explained quite simply.
Officially launched on March 28, it will join the small family of services dedicated solely to “great music”.
Exclusive catalog, Hi-Res and editorial content
From an ergonomic point of view, Apple Music Classical largely uses the codes of Apple Music. But here, only one musical genre is offered: classical. Apple thus offers a catalog of no less than 5 million titles (at launch), including several thousand exclusive albums.
This richness of the catalog is accompanied, according to Apple, by a complete work on the metadata (name of the artist, performers, year of recording, etc.). This last point is a good idea, because metadata is often neglected on this style, in particular because of the potentially large number of recordings of the same piece. To this is added an editorial dimension, since the application will highlight the biography of the artists as well as in-depth guides on certain works.
Like Apple Music’s general catalog, Apple Music Classical will include a variety of audio qualities ranging from lossless 16-bit/44.1kHz (CD quality) to 24-bit/192kHz, all in ALAC format. . The 24 bits/192 kHz will probably only concern a small portion of the songs. “Hi-Res” tracks will mostly be 24-bit/48kHz, or even 24-bit/96kHz.
Apple obliges, some songs will even be in Spatial Audio (Atmos mixing). If only for live recordings, Classical is one of the few styles really relevant for reproductions of this type. Finally, the download will remain active for offline listening.
A takeover that bears fruit, at no additional cost to the user
Would Apple therefore hold a truly original idea here? Not completely. The streaming applications solely devoted to the classic are few, confidential, but they exist. We can cite in particular the classic Vialma, and above all the former Primephonic service which placed the emphasis on the quality of recordings and editorial content. The latter was acquired by Apple at the end of August 2021, so the existence of Apple Music Classical immediately makes more sense.
Whether or not we understand Apple’s choice to go this route, perpetuating this service instead of simply taking its catalog is commendable. For the user, it is all the more interesting as it does not require any additional subscription. An Apple Music subscriber will therefore be able to enjoy Apple Music Classical directly at no additional cost.
This service will be officially launched on March 28 on the App Store and is already in pre-order (automatic download on launch day). Without indicating a release date, Apple specifies that the application will soon be available on Android.
See the offer
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- Lossless at no extra cost
- One of the most advantageous subscriptions on the market
- One of the largest music catalogs currently (with the possibility of adding your own library)
There is no doubt about one point: Apple Music is undeniably the fiercest competitor to Spotify, and more and more users are not mistaken. It is one of the music streaming services with the most features and the best audio quality for the asking price to enjoy the subscription. With its 100 million music tracks in lossless quality, personalized content and flawless accessibility (whether you have hardware from Apple or not), it is a major competitor against the Swedish giant.
There is no doubt about one point: Apple Music is undeniably the fiercest competitor to Spotify, and more and more users are not mistaken. It is one of the music streaming services with the most features and the best audio quality for the asking price to enjoy the subscription. With its 100 million music tracks in lossless quality, personalized content and flawless accessibility (whether you have hardware from Apple or not), it is a major competitor against the Swedish giant.
Source : Apple
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