primephonic.com
The classical world is largely separate from other genres of music. This is in all senses of the word exceptional. For instance, you will never hear the 5th symphony by Beethoven playing on pop radio stations. Similarly, you would never expect to see Justin Bieber performing at a symphony hall.
These two worlds rarely intersect. And if they do, it is only if an orchestra puts on a special classical arrangement of popular songs. Even so, these performances don't tend to draw out fans of the top 40 radio so much as they do music theory students and instructors, fellow musicians, and curious composers.
Which is why it is only sensible for there to be a streaming service dedicated solely to classical music. The majority of audio streaming services available are not ideal when it comes to discovering new classical pieces or finding a comprehensive library of the best performances of the works that we know and love. They are just not designed to accommodate the unique archiving structures that classical music demands.
One song, for example, has many different recorded performances. A Chopin Nocturne has been reimagined by many different pianists, and each interpretation, each performance of it, offers its own subtle differences.
Every musician, conductor, and streaming service has its own way of interpreting the music, dynamics, expressions, and personal style of playing. So true fans and students of classical music need a streaming service that makes browsing all of these versions as simple and easy as possible.
If you love classical music, it can be frustrating when you're trying to find a specific recording of a piece. Streaming services that focus more on pop music - like Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, etc. - don't tend to make browsing for specific performers, conductors, or symphonic performances very easy. They're designed more around searching for a particular artist or new song release.
However, fans of classical music rejoice. Today I will introduce you to a streaming service made specifically for and by people who love and understand classical music. Meet Primephonic.
History
Primephonic was created in 2014 as a way to improve the quality of classical music available on popular music streaming services. In the beginning, Primephonic only offered the ability to download music files. There were no streaming capabilities at first.
In May of 2016, Primephonic was acquired by Sony Classical. In June of the following year (2017), Primephonic reintroduced itself as a full streaming platform in the United States and the United Kingdom. Today, as of this review, Primephonic offers streaming and downloading of over 10,000 titles, with streaming quality of 16-bit FLAC (standard CD quality). 10,000 unique titles amounts to about 3 million individual tracks when you take into account the multiple recording factor.
A team of six musicologists conceived the idea for the site and subsequent apps. And a legion of classical music students is responsible for archiving, categorizing, and cataloging all of the songs that are available on the service.
The main purpose of Primephonic according to Wikipedia is to understand the rich metadata associated with classical music pieces. This is not the case on other generalist sites, such as Spotify and Deezer, where the search for classical music often feels tenuous or even incoherent. On Primephonic, all pages dedicated to works or artists include complete information and suggestions based on the similarities between metadata.
Finally, a credible authority on streaming and downloading classical music has been born with Primephonic.
Design
Each site, the app, and the web player are all expertly designed. All formats of Primephonic are, in my opinion, very easy on the eyes. It has an elegant (dare I say classy?) aesthetic. Opting for a minimalistic look, Primephonic can easily compete with the big players in the music streaming space - in fact, some might even prefer the sleek look and feel of Primephonic over the somewhat comparatively clunky designs of, say, Apple Music or Spotify.
The search function is marvelous and it is clearly built specifically for classical music archiving. There is an app that allows you to easily and conveniently find an exact piece, composer, conductor, performer, or performance without having to go through potential hours of cross-referencing and research. Primephonic allows you to delve fully into the world of classical music all from your smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer.
Primephonic is a great music streaming service that can recommend specific classical works, composers, and performances that you'll love. It's easy to use and has a great Discover section.
Content
As I mentioned before, Primephonic offers nearly three million individual pieces. And with the addition of new titles and performances to their database every day, Primephonic's massive catalog of classical music is constantly growing, evolving, and becoming more efficient.
Since Primephonic offers the best in cutting-edge audio quality, pairing it with the fact that their classical music library is expertly curated means that you will have access to the perfect selection of classical music recordings at all times. Why bother digging through cluttered and messy libraries of subpar classical music recordings on Spotify or Apple Music when you can have an expertly curated collection of compositions at your fingertips with the Primephonic app?
Desktop and Mobile Experience
Once again, Primephonic's design is optimized, visually appealing, and super user-friendly. The web and app version of this streaming service is top of the line, simple, and effective at providing a convenient catalog of the highest-quality classical recordings in the world.
Pricing and Plans
Primephonic offers a two-tiered subscription. There are Primephonic Premium and Primephonic Platinum subscriptions. The pricing for Primephonic Premium and Primephonic Platinum is reminiscent of Tidal's pricing.
Premium music streaming service Primephonic is going to charge you $9.99 per month (or $99.99 for a year). This is the standard price point for music streaming services and for your ten dollars a month, you'll get full access to Primephonic's library of 2.8 million recordings (and counting), smart search, new releases weekly, exclusive classical music podcasts and interviews with top artists, and daily recommendations hand-selected by classical music experts.
But if you're just looking for something a little more up-to-date and cutting edge, Platinum is where it's at.
Then there are the options of Premium and Platinum. Premium offers 320 kbps MP3 files to stream, while Platinum offers 24-bit FLAC lossless streaming quality. These two options have different prices as well: Premium is $19.99 per month (or $149.99 for a full year commitment) or you can save money by becoming a platinum member for only $4 more per month. If you are truly interested in high-quality classical music, then becoming a premium member will run you $39.99 per month (or $299.99 for a full year commitment). But if you just want something more up to date and cutting edge, becoming a platinum member will save you $20 per month (or $240 per year).
Suggestions that I Have for Primephonic
Honestly, I do not have any suggestions for Primephonic. This is one of those rare services that set out to do something and has managed to do so, as far as I can see. I suppose the only gripe that I have with it if I had to pick one, would be the price point of the Platinum plan.
I don't think I would be willing to spend $20 on any streaming service, let alone one that only provides one genre of music. And introducing video streaming would also be a great addition. It would just be the perfect way to finish off the experience if you could also watch exclusive recordings of world-class musicians performing classical pieces.
Conclusion
I believe that Primephonic is one of the best audio streaming services on the market. The fact that it is handcrafted by classical music students and professionals makes it a truly unique service - one that is extremely effective and worth looking into.
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