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Apple Music Classical

J
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Apple acquired Primephonic in 2021 with the intention of using that service as the basic of creating their own music solution aimed specifically at the Classical music genre.

I did not pay much attention at the time but I thought this was more for dealing with the enhanced meta data/tag information needed for the Classical music genre. For example the same music title composed by the same original composer may have multiple recordings from many different orchestras over time and with sometimes different conductors, soloists or singers any of which might be specifically looked for by classical music enthusiasts.

Well Apple are this month finally launching their new Apple Music Classical app which is the dedicated app for classical music and will be backed up by the current Apple Music streaming service. It will be free to existing Apple Music subscribers.

See - https://apps.apple.com/app/id1598433714

Initially at least it is only available as an iPhone app and not an iPad or Mac app.

The relevance of all this to Sonos users is that Sonos has supported Apple Music for sometime - kudos to Sonos and Apple for this. My question therefore is whether Sonos will be able to add support for Apple Music Classical at some point. (Remember it is no extra cost.)

One aspect to consider is that unlike Apple Music as a whole Apple Music Classical is available in a lossless form. Once more kudos to Apple for recognising that classical music enthusiasts particularly would be concerned about audio quality.

(I still think it is long overdue for the iTunes Store and Apple Music to offer a lossless option.)

Note: Apparently Apple Music Classical will have above CD level lossless audio quality and might be of such a level that some Sonos Speaker models may not be able to support it. According to -

https://9to5mac.com/2023/03/09/apple-music-classical-release-date/

This is going to be 

  • The highest audio quality (up to 192 kHz/24 bit Hi-Res Lossless) with thousands of recordings in immersive spatial audio.
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Best answer by Traveller 9 March 2023, 20:38

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19 replies

jgatie

It’s not up to Sonos to support it.  The music services decide if they want to be on Sonos, and they develop their own service on the Sonos app using the Sonos API.  The only thing Sonos does is QA their implementation.

J
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@jgatie 

It takes two to tango.

It will need Apple to allow it and provide an API that Sonos can implement. Both did this together for the current Apple Music support and hopefully both will do it together for Apple Music Classical support.

Right now not even the Apple HomePod is able to use Apple Music Classical other than via an iPhone using AirPlay to stream it to a HomePod.

T

This might be relevant here, re Apple and Sonos

https://www.whathifi.com/news/apple-music-classical-will-launch-on-28th-march-with-hi-res-and-spatial-audio

Richard
J
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Thanks @Traveller that does indeed look promising.

jgatie

@jgatie

It takes two to tango.

It will need Apple to allow it and provide an API that Sonos can implement. Both did this together for the current Apple Music support and hopefully both will do it together for Apple Music Classical support.

Right now not even the Apple HomePod is able to use Apple Music Classical other than via an iPhone using AirPlay to stream it to a HomePod.

 

Not correct in the least.  The Sonos API (SMAPI) is used by the service providers to incorporate their service into the Sonos app.  As I stated, Sonos doesn’t implement anything but the API.  It’s the service which does the implementing, Sonos just does QA.  

See this link: https://developer.sonos.com/build/content-service-get-started/

melvimbe

@jgatie

It takes two to tango.

It will need Apple to allow it and provide an API that Sonos can implement. Both did this together for the current Apple Music support and hopefully both will do it together for Apple Music Classical support.

Right now not even the Apple HomePod is able to use Apple Music Classical other than via an iPhone using AirPlay to stream it to a HomePod.

 

Not correct in the least.  The Sonos API (SMAPI) is used by the service providers to incorporate their service into the Sonos app.  As I stated, Sonos doesn’t implement anything but the API.  It’s the service which does the implementing, Sonos just does QA.  

See this link: https://developer.sonos.com/build/content-service-get-started/

 

And a good thing it works that way too, since Sonos speakers have limited space and could not manage a different API for all the many streaming services they support.  Apple and other service on the other hand, have a lot more resources available on their servers.

Danny
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So, will Apple Music Classical work with Sonos on launch day? Anyone know?

Airgetlam

I would assume it requires work by Apple in order to stand up a server that services Sonos. I doubt that Apple has had time to do that, or integrate the Sonos API into that server, so I would not expect this to be ready at day one of Apple’s release. 

However, you might get a different answer if you were to ping Apple directly, since they’re the ones who would be doing the work. Sonos has already written and released the API, all Sonos needs to do is QA a submission from Apple, and make it available/live on the controller. And Sonos won’t release information about upcoming partner movements.

Bruce
D

Apple Classical has arrived here but is not available yet to add to Sonos app. Perhaps that will change in the days to come.

 

Airgetlam

Personally, I would expect Apple to have time to do a Sonos integration of the new service to be measured in months, not hours or days, if they choose to do anything. But it’s Apple who controls this, not Sonos. 

Bruce
J
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Without its availability on Sonos, Apple Classical is not very useful to me. I’ll stick with Idagio until they figure this out.

J
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There is a workaround, kludgy but effective. Add a selection from Apple Music Classical to your library. It will then appear in your Apple library and can be played on the Sonos system. 

melvimbe

I wonder if you can play the service on homepods.  If not, Apple would surely prioritize that.

Also, is airplay not an acceptable workaround?

Danny
N

Hmm,

All Apple music is lossless and has been for some time as well as providing higher bit rate quality or spatial audio on many selections including classical. I have used Airplay to get my Apple Classical playing through my Sonos system which works but a bit of a pain! 

 

O

The workaround gives you the play list but it does not give you the info in proper form. It does not identify the composer so like Apple Music useless for classical music. 

Airgetlam

This ‘improper data’ format would be fed from Apple, who would bear the responsibility for ‘fixing’ it. 

Bruce
K

@orzel and anyone else.  Not sure about what you describe.  But it is interesting that the minute I installed the app, all of my classical playlists from Primephonic (my goodness that seems like a long time ago. Been on IDAGIO since then) were moved into the app, after sitting in the Apple Music app since Primephonic went away.

Both Sonos and Primephonic  told me many years ago, when Primephonic was trying to get listed  and it wasn’t happening, that Primephonic had done its work but that it was Sonos dragging their feet on “approving”  it for their platform.  Not clear that Sonos is always so motivated to accommodate us classical music types.

U

When I find something I like on the Apple Classical app, I create a playlist.  The playlist appears on the Apple Music app, and I can play it on Sonos.  Not as easy as hitting a button, but I can find works I like on the Apple Classical app and find a way to play them.

I’m not sure if that helps

 

B
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Sometimes I wonder if it’s too bad that Apple hasn’t bought Sonos yet, although in general, I’m not a bid fan of bigger is better. However, in this case, our discussion might be moot…

 

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