Apple Music Classical begins rolling out to international users

AppleInsider

Apple Music subscribers around the world are beginning to get the new Apple Music Classical app, starting with users in Australia and Asia.

The long-awaited Apple Music Classical is due to launch on March 28, 2023, but for some countries around the globe, that date has already come. Consequently the first sightings of Apple's new classical music service are beginning to appear in tweets from users in those nations.

#AppleMusic Apple Music Classical .. Apple Music pic.twitter.com/aha7K8gs3N

-- jetboat (@jetboat26)

March 27, 2023

As yet, there are only a few scattered examples of downloads in different countries. This may be because Apple does not appear to be promoting the launch, not even in countries where it is now available.

However, users who pre-ordered Apple Music Classical when it was announced, will get a notification when it is in their local App Store.

Although the service and app are not available in Canada, at time of writing, Canadian publication iPhoneInCanada has sourced a range of screenshots showing Apple Music Classical in action.

Apple Music Classical in use. (Source: iPhoneInCanada)

Apple Music Classical should be available for all Apple Music subscribers in most countries around the world. The exceptions are China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Taiwan, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan, though Apple has not detailed why those countries will miss out at first.

Read on AppleInsider

DAalseth

This weekend when I went into Music to play my own library, up popped an ad for Apple Classical. I read it, and came to a promotional video. I clicked on it to get an idea of what it will be like.

The video would only play if I already subscribed to AppleMusic.

Considering that part of the rational for AC is to get more people to subscribe to AM, putting your ad for AC behind an AM paywall, something many of us don’t subscribe to, is pretty F-ing stupid. 

So far I’ve not been impressed with how Apple is handling AC. I’ll wait for the reviews, but…

AppleZulu

DAalseth said:

This weekend when I went into Music to play my own library, up popped an ad for Apple Classical. I read it, and came to a promotional video. I clicked on it to get an idea of what it will be like.

The video would only play if I already subscribed to AppleMusic.

Considering that part of the rational for AC is to get more people to subscribe to AM, putting your ad for AC behind an AM paywall, something many of us don’t subscribe to, is pretty F-ing stupid. 

So far I’ve not been impressed with how Apple is handling AC. I’ll wait for the reviews, but…

Given that they're only rolling it out on iPhones initially, it would not be unreasonable to think that Apple is going for a bit of a 'soft opening' here, in order to get their sea legs. Starting with a single platform that is not typically connected to a lot of non-Apple gear, and also focusing on existing Apple Music subscribers will significantly narrow the variables they have to keep up with during the initial startup. This way, they can deal primarily with making sure the system is working as intended. 

Classical music fans who already have their own libraries set up and listen it on an AppleTV hooked to a sound system, or worse, a Mac hooked to a sound system, or still yet worse, a PC hooked to a sound system and still yet even worse, haven't previously subscribed to a streaming service are all going to be prone to claiming that the system isn't working, not because the system actually isn't working, but because it's not working the way they have independently devised a digital classical music catalog to work. 

Apple Music Classical is at long last a major music provider coming along to fill the void left by streaming, digital download and physical record stores that have all always structured their systems to cater to popular music. The thing is, while there's been a void, there hasn't been a vacuum. Just about every classical music enthusiast will have improvised their own file tagging and cataloging, etc., and each one of them will have done so a little differently, and with a high level of confidence that their way is the right way. This means that for almost all of those enthusiasts, Apple Music Classical will have done it the wrong way, or at minimum, not the best way. Many will want to be able to customize the AMC UI to make it work their way, and that's almost surely not going to be a thing. 

So yeah, it's probably a good idea for them to do a soft opening on the iPhone geared primarily to people who already have an Apple Music subscription. 

DAalseth

AppleZulu said:

DAalseth said:

This weekend when I went into Music to play my own library, up popped an ad for Apple Classical. I read it, and came to a promotional video. I clicked on it to get an idea of what it will be like.

The video would only play if I already subscribed to AppleMusic.

Considering that part of the rational for AC is to get more people to subscribe to AM, putting your ad for AC behind an AM paywall, something many of us don’t subscribe to, is pretty F-ing stupid. 

So far I’ve not been impressed with how Apple is handling AC. I’ll wait for the reviews, but…

Given that they're only rolling it out on iPhones initially, it would not be unreasonable to think that Apple is going for a bit of a 'soft opening' here, in order to get their sea legs. Starting with a single platform that is not typically connected to a lot of non-Apple gear, and also focusing on existing Apple Music subscribers will significantly narrow the variables they have to keep up with during the initial startup. This way, they can deal primarily with making sure the system is working as intended. 

Classical music fans who already have their own libraries set up and listen it on an AppleTV hooked to a sound system, or worse, a Mac hooked to a sound system, or still yet worse, a PC hooked to a sound system and still yet even worse, haven't previously subscribed to a streaming service are all going to be prone to claiming that the system isn't working, not because the system actually isn't working, but because it's not working the way they have independently devised a digital classical music catalog to work. 

Apple Music Classical is at long last a major music provider coming along to fill the void left by streaming, digital download and physical record stores that have all always structured their systems to cater to popular music. The thing is, while there's been a void, there hasn't been a vacuum. Just about every classical music enthusiast will have improvised their own file tagging and cataloging, etc., and each one of them will have done so a little differently, and with a high level of confidence that their way is the right way. This means that for almost all of those enthusiasts, Apple Music Classical will have done it the wrong way, or at minimum, not the best way. Many will want to be able to customize the AMC UI to make it work their way, and that's almost surely not going to be a thing. 

So yeah, it's probably a good idea for them to do a soft opening on the iPhone geared primarily to people who already have an Apple Music subscription. 

I’ll grant you some of what you say. BUT not letting people see the promotional video unless they have an AM subscription is a chrome plated neon light illuminated F-up. Fine to do a soft roll out, but the idea is to get a buzz going. Get people interested and excited for when they do open it up wider. To lock up their commercials is just stupid. 

They are competing against the classical streaming service I already have and have paid for, and are losing BADLY. 

dymmas

You can’t download to listen offline.

🤦‍♂️

The app experience is great. Hopefully they adopt it for the Music app.

byronl

dymmas said:

You can’t download to listen offline.

🤦‍♂️

The app experience is great. Hopefully they adopt it for the Music app.

How does the app experience differ to the Music app's?

noelos

byronl said:

dymmas said:

You can’t download to listen offline.

🤦‍♂️

The app experience is great. Hopefully they adopt it for the Music app.

How does the app experience differ to the Music app's?

It's familiar. Shows music from the main Music app (matched and Added) that fits a classical Category.

Metadata tagging in albums seems to be ordered more hierarchically by works rather than just a list of tracks. No option to download for offline listening on iOS. 

I guess the bigger benefits will be around music discovery and help finding versions. For instance if I search for Mozart's Requiem it recognises that as one "Work" and comes back with 824 (!) recordings of it and seems to lead with an Editor's Choice and some classic recordings.

Seems like they did an okay job to keep it familiar and keep any classical music you already have in Apple Music. 

AppleZulu

DAalseth said:

AppleZulu said:

DAalseth said:

This weekend when I went into Music to play my own library, up popped an ad for Apple Classical. I read it, and came to a promotional video. I clicked on it to get an idea of what it will be like.

The video would only play if I already subscribed to AppleMusic.

Considering that part of the rational for AC is to get more people to subscribe to AM, putting your ad for AC behind an AM paywall, something many of us don’t subscribe to, is pretty F-ing stupid. 

So far I’ve not been impressed with how Apple is handling AC. I’ll wait for the reviews, but…

Given that they're only rolling it out on iPhones initially, it would not be unreasonable to think that Apple is going for a bit of a 'soft opening' here, in order to get their sea legs. Starting with a single platform that is not typically connected to a lot of non-Apple gear, and also focusing on existing Apple Music subscribers will significantly narrow the variables they have to keep up with during the initial startup. This way, they can deal primarily with making sure the system is working as intended. 

Classical music fans who already have their own libraries set up and listen it on an AppleTV hooked to a sound system, or worse, a Mac hooked to a sound system, or still yet worse, a PC hooked to a sound system and still yet even worse, haven't previously subscribed to a streaming service are all going to be prone to claiming that the system isn't working, not because the system actually isn't working, but because it's not working the way they have independently devised a digital classical music catalog to work. 

Apple Music Classical is at long last a major music provider coming along to fill the void left by streaming, digital download and physical record stores that have all always structured their systems to cater to popular music. The thing is, while there's been a void, there hasn't been a vacuum. Just about every classical music enthusiast will have improvised their own file tagging and cataloging, etc., and each one of them will have done so a little differently, and with a high level of confidence that their way is the right way. This means that for almost all of those enthusiasts, Apple Music Classical will have done it the wrong way, or at minimum, not the best way. Many will want to be able to customize the AMC UI to make it work their way, and that's almost surely not going to be a thing. 

So yeah, it's probably a good idea for them to do a soft opening on the iPhone geared primarily to people who already have an Apple Music subscription. 

I’ll grant you some of what you say. BUT not letting people see the promotional video unless they have an AM subscription is a chrome plated neon light illuminated F-up. Fine to do a soft roll out, but the idea is to get a buzz going. Get people interested and excited for when they do open it up wider. To lock up their commercials is just stupid. 

They are competing against the classical streaming service I already have and have paid for, and are losing BADLY. 

Which classical streaming service is that?

darkvader

byronl said:

dymmas said:

You can’t download to listen offline.

🤦‍♂️

The app experience is great. Hopefully they adopt it for the Music app.

How does the app experience differ to the Music app's?

That probably falls into the category of "ANYTHING would be an improvement, it can't get any worse."

DAalseth

AppleZulu said:

DAalseth said:

AppleZulu said:

DAalseth said:

This weekend when I went into Music to play my own library, up popped an ad for Apple Classical. I read it, and came to a promotional video. I clicked on it to get an idea of what it will be like.

The video would only play if I already subscribed to AppleMusic.

Considering that part of the rational for AC is to get more people to subscribe to AM, putting your ad for AC behind an AM paywall, something many of us don’t subscribe to, is pretty F-ing stupid. 

So far I’ve not been impressed with how Apple is handling AC. I’ll wait for the reviews, but…

Given that they're only rolling it out on iPhones initially, it would not be unreasonable to think that Apple is going for a bit of a 'soft opening' here, in order to get their sea legs. Starting with a single platform that is not typically connected to a lot of non-Apple gear, and also focusing on existing Apple Music subscribers will significantly narrow the variables they have to keep up with during the initial startup. This way, they can deal primarily with making sure the system is working as intended. 

Classical music fans who already have their own libraries set up and listen it on an AppleTV hooked to a sound system, or worse, a Mac hooked to a sound system, or still yet worse, a PC hooked to a sound system and still yet even worse, haven't previously subscribed to a streaming service are all going to be prone to claiming that the system isn't working, not because the system actually isn't working, but because it's not working the way they have independently devised a digital classical music catalog to work. 

Apple Music Classical is at long last a major music provider coming along to fill the void left by streaming, digital download and physical record stores that have all always structured their systems to cater to popular music. The thing is, while there's been a void, there hasn't been a vacuum. Just about every classical music enthusiast will have improvised their own file tagging and cataloging, etc., and each one of them will have done so a little differently, and with a high level of confidence that their way is the right way. This means that for almost all of those enthusiasts, Apple Music Classical will have done it the wrong way, or at minimum, not the best way. Many will want to be able to customize the AMC UI to make it work their way, and that's almost surely not going to be a thing. 

So yeah, it's probably a good idea for them to do a soft opening on the iPhone geared primarily to people who already have an Apple Music subscription. 

I’ll grant you some of what you say. BUT not letting people see the promotional video unless they have an AM subscription is a chrome plated neon light illuminated F-up. Fine to do a soft roll out, but the idea is to get a buzz going. Get people interested and excited for when they do open it up wider. To lock up their commercials is just stupid. 

They are competing against the classical streaming service I already have and have paid for, and are losing BADLY. 

Which classical streaming service is that?

AllClassical {dot} org.
It’s the streaming service of a public broadcasting station out of Portland Oregon. Plays a nice variety of music, the hosts are very knowledgeable, they have some special programs, you can go back and see what they played, and they have links to purchase it if you want. They even have their own App.

dymmas

byronl said:

dymmas said:

You can’t download to listen offline.

🤦‍♂️

The app experience is great. Hopefully they adopt it for the Music app.

How does the app experience differ to the Music app's?

It doesn’t truncate the song title. Seems to scroll more quickly. 

dymmas

Actually the more I engage with the Apple Classical app the more it acts as a foil to the Music app. It's just light years better.

The full titles and not truncating is the main difference. It's not limited by two lines as Apple Music is. I can see the full title of each song.

Browse is also light years better. Objective breakdowns of Composers, Periods, Instruments (!) etc, rather than like in Apple Music, which is a presentation of genres and playlists I have no interest in (nor have any control over what is presented).

Japhey

DAalseth said:

AppleZulu said:

DAalseth said:

This weekend when I went into Music to play my own library, up popped an ad for Apple Classical. I read it, and came to a promotional video. I clicked on it to get an idea of what it will be like.

The video would only play if I already subscribed to AppleMusic.

Considering that part of the rational for AC is to get more people to subscribe to AM, putting your ad for AC behind an AM paywall, something many of us don’t subscribe to, is pretty F-ing stupid. 

So far I’ve not been impressed with how Apple is handling AC. I’ll wait for the reviews, but…

Given that they're only rolling it out on iPhones initially, it would not be unreasonable to think that Apple is going for a bit of a 'soft opening' here, in order to get their sea legs. Starting with a single platform that is not typically connected to a lot of non-Apple gear, and also focusing on existing Apple Music subscribers will significantly narrow the variables they have to keep up with during the initial startup. This way, they can deal primarily with making sure the system is working as intended. 

Classical music fans who already have their own libraries set up and listen it on an AppleTV hooked to a sound system, or worse, a Mac hooked to a sound system, or still yet worse, a PC hooked to a sound system and still yet even worse, haven't previously subscribed to a streaming service are all going to be prone to claiming that the system isn't working, not because the system actually isn't working, but because it's not working the way they have independently devised a digital classical music catalog to work. 

Apple Music Classical is at long last a major music provider coming along to fill the void left by streaming, digital download and physical record stores that have all always structured their systems to cater to popular music. The thing is, while there's been a void, there hasn't been a vacuum. Just about every classical music enthusiast will have improvised their own file tagging and cataloging, etc., and each one of them will have done so a little differently, and with a high level of confidence that their way is the right way. This means that for almost all of those enthusiasts, Apple Music Classical will have done it the wrong way, or at minimum, not the best way. Many will want to be able to customize the AMC UI to make it work their way, and that's almost surely not going to be a thing. 

So yeah, it's probably a good idea for them to do a soft opening on the iPhone geared primarily to people who already have an Apple Music subscription. 

I’ll grant you some of what you say. BUT not letting people see the promotional video unless they have an AM subscription is a chrome plated neon light illuminated F-up. Fine to do a soft roll out, but the idea is to get a buzz going. Get people interested and excited for when they do open it up wider. To lock up their commercials is just stupid. 

They are competing against the classical streaming service I already have and have paid for, and are losing BADLY. 

Why? Are AllClassical promo videos available to everyone? 

It’s a serious question…I wasn’t aware that was the criteria we were using now to judge things we haven’t actually tried. 

You stumbled onto an ad that wasn’t meant to target the general public. It’s a marketing glitch, nothing more.  

fred1

DAalseth said:

AppleZulu said:

DAalseth said:

AppleZulu said:

DAalseth said:

This weekend when I went into Music to play my own library, up popped an ad for Apple Classical. I read it, and came to a promotional video. I clicked on it to get an idea of what it will be like.

The video would only play if I already subscribed to AppleMusic.

Considering that part of the rational for AC is to get more people to subscribe to AM, putting your ad for AC behind an AM paywall, something many of us don’t subscribe to, is pretty F-ing stupid. 

So far I’ve not been impressed with how Apple is handling AC. I’ll wait for the reviews, but…

Given that they're only rolling it out on iPhones initially, it would not be unreasonable to think that Apple is going for a bit of a 'soft opening' here, in order to get their sea legs. Starting with a single platform that is not typically connected to a lot of non-Apple gear, and also focusing on existing Apple Music subscribers will significantly narrow the variables they have to keep up with during the initial startup. This way, they can deal primarily with making sure the system is working as intended. 

Classical music fans who already have their own libraries set up and listen it on an AppleTV hooked to a sound system, or worse, a Mac hooked to a sound system, or still yet worse, a PC hooked to a sound system and still yet even worse, haven't previously subscribed to a streaming service are all going to be prone to claiming that the system isn't working, not because the system actually isn't working, but because it's not working the way they have independently devised a digital classical music catalog to work. 

Apple Music Classical is at long last a major music provider coming along to fill the void left by streaming, digital download and physical record stores that have all always structured their systems to cater to popular music. The thing is, while there's been a void, there hasn't been a vacuum. Just about every classical music enthusiast will have improvised their own file tagging and cataloging, etc., and each one of them will have done so a little differently, and with a high level of confidence that their way is the right way. This means that for almost all of those enthusiasts, Apple Music Classical will have done it the wrong way, or at minimum, not the best way. Many will want to be able to customize the AMC UI to make it work their way, and that's almost surely not going to be a thing. 

So yeah, it's probably a good idea for them to do a soft opening on the iPhone geared primarily to people who already have an Apple Music subscription. 

I’ll grant you some of what you say. BUT not letting people see the promotional video unless they have an AM subscription is a chrome plated neon light illuminated F-up. Fine to do a soft roll out, but the idea is to get a buzz going. Get people interested and excited for when they do open it up wider. To lock up their commercials is just stupid. 

They are competing against the classical streaming service I already have and have paid for, and are losing BADLY. 

Which classical streaming service is that?

AllClassical {dot} org.
It’s the streaming service of a public broadcasting station out of Portland Oregon. Plays a nice variety of music, the hosts are very knowledgeable, they have some special programs, you can go back and see what they played, and they have links to purchase it if you want. They even have their own App.

Thank you for mentioning this. I downloaded the app and am enjoying it a lot. 

byronl

noelos said:

byronl said:

dymmas said:

You can’t download to listen offline.

🤦‍♂️

The app experience is great. Hopefully they adopt it for the Music app.

How does the app experience differ to the Music app's?

It's familiar. Shows music from the main Music app (matched and Added) that fits a classical Category.

Metadata tagging in albums seems to be ordered more hierarchically by works rather than just a list of tracks. No option to download for offline listening on iOS. 

I guess the bigger benefits will be around music discovery and help finding versions. For instance if I search for Mozart's Requiem it recognises that as one "Work" and comes back with 824 (!) recordings of it and seems to lead with an Editor's Choice and some classic recordings.

Seems like they did an okay job to keep it familiar and keep any classical music you already have in Apple Music. 

nice, I hope they bring some stuff over to the regular Music app

AppleZulu

DAalseth said:

AppleZulu said:

DAalseth said:

AppleZulu said:

DAalseth said:

This weekend when I went into Music to play my own library, up popped an ad for Apple Classical. I read it, and came to a promotional video. I clicked on it to get an idea of what it will be like.

The video would only play if I already subscribed to AppleMusic.

Considering that part of the rational for AC is to get more people to subscribe to AM, putting your ad for AC behind an AM paywall, something many of us don’t subscribe to, is pretty F-ing stupid. 

So far I’ve not been impressed with how Apple is handling AC. I’ll wait for the reviews, but…

Given that they're only rolling it out on iPhones initially, it would not be unreasonable to think that Apple is going for a bit of a 'soft opening' here, in order to get their sea legs. Starting with a single platform that is not typically connected to a lot of non-Apple gear, and also focusing on existing Apple Music subscribers will significantly narrow the variables they have to keep up with during the initial startup. This way, they can deal primarily with making sure the system is working as intended. 

Classical music fans who already have their own libraries set up and listen it on an AppleTV hooked to a sound system, or worse, a Mac hooked to a sound system, or still yet worse, a PC hooked to a sound system and still yet even worse, haven't previously subscribed to a streaming service are all going to be prone to claiming that the system isn't working, not because the system actually isn't working, but because it's not working the way they have independently devised a digital classical music catalog to work. 

Apple Music Classical is at long last a major music provider coming along to fill the void left by streaming, digital download and physical record stores that have all always structured their systems to cater to popular music. The thing is, while there's been a void, there hasn't been a vacuum. Just about every classical music enthusiast will have improvised their own file tagging and cataloging, etc., and each one of them will have done so a little differently, and with a high level of confidence that their way is the right way. This means that for almost all of those enthusiasts, Apple Music Classical will have done it the wrong way, or at minimum, not the best way. Many will want to be able to customize the AMC UI to make it work their way, and that's almost surely not going to be a thing. 

So yeah, it's probably a good idea for them to do a soft opening on the iPhone geared primarily to people who already have an Apple Music subscription. 

I’ll grant you some of what you say. BUT not letting people see the promotional video unless they have an AM subscription is a chrome plated neon light illuminated F-up. Fine to do a soft roll out, but the idea is to get a buzz going. Get people interested and excited for when they do open it up wider. To lock up their commercials is just stupid. 

They are competing against the classical streaming service I already have and have paid for, and are losing BADLY. 

Which classical streaming service is that?

AllClassical {dot} org.
It’s the streaming service of a public broadcasting station out of Portland Oregon. Plays a nice variety of music, the hosts are very knowledgeable, they have some special programs, you can go back and see what they played, and they have links to purchase it if you want. They even have their own App.

So, a public radio station. That’s cool. I support my local public radio station. 

Of course, that’s not a classical music app. You can’t stream music on demand from it, can you? Can you pick a composition and do a deep dive comparison of multiple performances? No?

You could’ve just said you like radio better, instead of claiming the new Apple classical music app isn’t as good as this other app you’re paying for, like you were comparing apples to apples.

I mean, this actually reinforces what I wrote above, but in an unexpected, even more spectacular example. I was suggesting that many classical music fans might get cranky that this new app doesn’t catalog things exactly as they would. Here, you’re criticizing the app by comparing it to a radio station, something that’s not even in the same category. I’m trying to think of a metaphor to demonstrate how obtuse that is, but I think your example stands on its own, in all its own glory. Congratulations!

just cruisin

dymmas said:

You can’t download to listen offline.

🤦‍♂️

Seriously???

Major fail Apple……major fail

AppleZulu

dymmas said:

You can’t download to listen offline.

🤦‍♂️

The app experience is great. Hopefully they adopt it for the Music app.

Just speculating, but this might once again just be a limitation during the initial rollout, based on potential stereotypical habits of the target audience. When first releasing a music app that specializes in long-form "works" (as opposed to single tracks) in lossless format, there would at least be a potential for a surge in demand on the system's servers if lots of classical music fans decided to build offline collections by downloading scads of entire works all at once, instead of streaming things as they actually listen to them. The downloaders could create orders of magnitude more simultaneous demand on the system's servers than will occur if people just stream and listen in real-time. 

Once things have settled out a bit, they will probably enable downloading for offline listening after folks have had time to explore the app and get used to it. At that point, more people will be accustomed to the fact that all of the content will be available online whenever you want it, and that downloading is only necessary if you need to take a few things with you while you're on a plane or somewhere else where streaming isn't ideal. Meanwhile, you can still go right over to the regular music app and download the exact same content there if you're about to get on a plane.

AppleZulu

So far CarPlay only sort of works with the classical music app. The thing itself doesn't show up as an available app on the CarPlay screen. You can open the classic music app on an attached iPhone and start playing music, and it will play through the CarPlay device. On a multi-tiled screen showing you a map, directions and a small player box, you'll see an icon with the album cover and some (possibly truncated) title info, along with the playback controls. Tap on that to get the full-screen music player and you get no album cover or title info, the word "Classical" in the upper right of the screen and (I think) grayed out playback controls. So CarPlay hasn't been written into it. Yet.