As we already told you a few days ago, Apple Music Classical is already very close to its debut. He will do so on March 28., and all iOS users who want to can already “pre-purchase” the app (I’m putting it in quotes because it’s free), which will automatically download to their devices when it’s available, in just over two weeks. We haven’t seen an Android version at this point, so perhaps Apple has decided that the experience is exclusive to iOS users, although I understand that might anger some Primephonic users.

The application that will give access to Apple’s classical music catalog comes late compared to the original plan, because we remember that Apple, when buying Primephonic, said that this exclusive application will be launched during 2022. The saying goes, in these cases, that it is never too late if luck is good. Of course, at this point we only know what Apple told us on the Apple Music Classical app tab in the App Store. And the truth is that the backup is promising, although we will have to wait until we can try it out to really appreciate the service.

But let’s remember that Apple’s classical music catalog is fully accessible from Apple Music, which made some wonder if it was necessary to create a specific application for this music genre. Why Apple Music Classical and not other specific versions for the most listened music genres? Apple Music Rock, Apple Music Jazz, Apple Music Urban… surely each of them would find a good handful of die-hard users.

There are those who quite reasonably argue that the main reason is to satisfy the demand of ex-Primephonic users. That’s true, of course, but it’s not like users of said service want a particular app for elitist reasons or anything like that (I’ve read it’s because they might be offended if it sneaks into their search results, for example, Rosalía’s latest achievement, something truly absurd). No, the reason to sue an app like Apple Music Classical is because Actually yes, it is more than necessary.

To understand it, it is necessary to understand the differences between classical music and other musical styles. For example, let’s say you want to listen to Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin. Simple, right? Just type a song and group into the search box, the song you were looking for will be displayed immediately and you can start listening to it. And the same with Delirium of grandeur by Rosalía, Telegraph Road by Dire Straits, Al son de una guerra by Nena Daconte and Never let me down again by Depeche Mode.

It’s not the same if you’re looking for, say, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, or Pachelbel’s ubiquitous Canon. Any of these searches will return you a huge list of results in no particular order except, in some cases, the popularity of each of these versions. Various performers, directors, studio and live recordings… I invite you to review, for example, the number of versions of Albinoni’s Adagio on any of the major platforms.

So there are two aspects that will be critical to the success of Apple Music Classical: catalog management and content curation. Apple must offer direct search and catalog browsing that meets different criteria than other music genres on Apple Music. A criteria that should fit the uniqueness of the genre like a glove, which you can only achieve if you add all the feedback from the community and a truly remarkable roster of editors.

If they get it right, Apple Music Classical could be the app that both classical music lovers and a significant number of users who want to learn more about the genre have been waiting for, but so far only have a few lists in the style of “101 Pieces of Classical Music, which you must hear before you die’. Will they succeed? We will find out in less than two weeks.