Classical music is far from unpopular - a trend recognized by artists, music enthusiasts, and the music industry alike. Discover the best streaming services for Classical musicians and find out how you can upload your songs to Classical music streaming services with iMusician.
Spotify alternatives for musicians
Over recent years, Classical music has experienced a significant increase in popularity. According to Headphones Addict, over 35% of U.S. American adults say they listen to the genre, with 29% being under the age of 35. While most people explore Classical music through dedicated radio stations, many listen to the genre through streaming platforms, including Spotify.
As the leading music streaming service worldwide, Spotify gives users access to an extensive catalog of music across a wide variety of genres. While Classical music may not be the main focus of the platform, its role should not be underestimated.
For example, curated Spotify playlists such as Classical Essentials or Classical Picks allow listeners to discover new tracks quickly. Meanwhile, artists can benefit from Spotify’s massive user numbers, as having their music on the platform makes it widely accessible. This can also enhance their chance of getting more streams of their songs.
Despite the benefits, Spotify comes with several disadvantages for Classical musicians. The main issue is the lack of metadata functions. This can make it difficult – if not impossible – for artists to label songs accurately and include all contributors involved. Additionally, the sheer number of songs with similar keywords can make it hard to find a specific piece of music.
And while the popularity of Spotify (and other major streaming platforms) can help with accessibility and visibility, it can also lead to your music drowning in the masses of daily uploads. Thus, it makes sense for Classical music artists to upload their music to platforms dedicated to the genre, such as Apple Music Classical, Vialma, or Idagio. Let’s look into some of the most relevant platforms for Classical musicians!
IDAGIO
IDAGIO is a Berlin-based streaming service dedicated to Classical music. The platform is run by developers, designers, musicologists, and respected classical music experts. It includes over 2 million licensed tracks and integrates all essential metadata options. Lossless audio ensures that no audio file data is lost during the compression process, allowing for a listening experience that resembles the original recording.
Other features are curated playlists, personalized recommendations, and a video streaming platform that gives access to live concerts. Moreover, IDAGIO’s online creative space allows musicians to learn from world-class artists and connect with highly experienced mentors. The features let artists directly reach potential fans, connect with other musicians and mentors, and explore new knowledge.
Lastly, artists on IDAGIO benefit from its Fair Pay Model: according to the platform, “audio stream revenue is calculated not by stream but by the second, making for a much fairer remuneration model, and 80% of net profits from IDAGIO Interactive go directly to the artists.”
Vialma
Vialma is a Classical and Jazz streaming service that prioritizes meaningful and enriching musical experiences. It provides perfectly accurate metadata, allowing listeners to find the music they seek, and musicians to be found with ease. In addition, the platform includes manually curated playlists, a video service, podcasts, and quizzes. Thanks to its blog, users can discover the history behind songs and artists and expand their knowledge of Classical and Jazz music.
As of 2021, the network was affiliated with 15 orchestras and ensembles with around 100,000 monthly listeners. Their audience is primarily European, most of whom are in the UK and France. Vialma is practical for Classical musicians (especially those located in Europe) as it allows them to connect with their target audience, potentially turning its members into active listeners.
Apple Music Classical
In 2021, the music streaming giant Apple Music purchased the Classical music platform Primephonic to develop its own streaming service dedicated to the genre. It then launched the platform Apple Music Classical, which offers a large classical music catalog (+5 million tracks), curated playlists, and an immersive, high-quality spatial audio listening experience.
Thanks to its elaborate search engine that supports the complex metadata structure of the genre, the platform allows users to find songs easily. They can do so by typing keywords related to a composer, work, conductor, artist, or instrument.
While Apple Music Classical is included in nearly all Apple Music subscriptions, it remains a separate app. Classical musicians should keep the platform on their radar, as they can benefit from it by directly reaching their target audience and building a presence on a renowned platform.
Qobuz
Although Qobuz is not exclusively a streaming platform for Classical music, it is popular among fans and artists alike. Qobuz provides over 100 million tracks, music recommendations across all genres, and a blog, thanks to which readers can educate themselves and discover new music.
The platform stands out for its high sound quality. 24-bit Hi-Res files for streaming to its subscribers guarantee a quality close to the original studio recordings. Additionally, Qobuz includes metadata options, making it possible for Classical music artists to add all contributors and easier for listeners to find the tracks they are looking for.
Presto Music
With high audio quality and an extensive catalog of Classical and Jazz songs, Presto Music is yet another alternative to commonly used, large streaming platforms. Classical musicians can find Presto Music useful as they can easily reach their potential fans in a place that is dedicated to their genre of choice.
Its search function is intentionally built to discover Classical songs, composers, works, and artists. Additionally, Presto Music explores curated playlists and publishes daily articles and interviews written by Classical music and Jazz experts.
How to upload music to Apple Music Classical, Qobuz, Vialma, or Idagio?
To upload their music to Apple Music Classical, Vialma, or IDAGIO, artists need to find a music distributor that lists the platforms in its catalog. This can be challenging, as not all distributors let artists upload their music to Classical music platforms.
Fortunately, you’re already at the right place, as iMusician distributes to Apple Music Classical, Vialma, and IDAGIO as part of its AMPLIFY+ plan! Qobuz, on the other hand, is included in all three plans.
Uploading your tracks to Classical music platforms is simple: once you’ve set up your account and plan with iMusician, you can ‘start a release’ within the dashboard to share a single, EP, or album. The next step is to upload your music files in WAV format and add an artwork of your choice (3000 x 3000 px).
Our team will review your submission and contact you if anything needs to be corrected. Keep in mind that Classical music releases in the public domain (works by composers who died more than 70 years ago) require a specific title formatting:
Album titles: Composer: Name of Work in Key, Catalog Number
E.g.: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No 7 in A major, Op 92.
Note: Album titles like "Best Piano Sonatas" may be used as well
Work’s title: Name of Work in Key, Catalog Number
E.g.: Symphony No 7 in A major, Op 92.
Track title: Movement Number, Movement Title
E.g.: II. Allegretto
You can find more information on how to distribute a classical music release and the formatting requirements in our FAQs.
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