By Lars Brandle
Universal Music has pressed the button on its classical portal Sinfini Music in Australia — marking the service’s first expansion step outside the U.K.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s launch, Universal Music Australia Classics & Jazz GM Cyrus Meher-Homji said Australia was an obvious choice for a classical push. “We have a vibrant classical market in Australia and a classical department with a strong market share. We want to get classical to the widest possible audience and that’s what Sinfini does,” he tells Billboard.biz.
The Australian site will feature editorial written by local and international journalists, and it’ll feature a magazine-type television program, which will also air terrestrially on Studio and other TV channels Down Under.
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Sinfini Music launched in the U.K. in November 2012 with a goal to provide a global online destination for new and existing classical music fans, as well as reaching a younger demographic. Roughly 30% of its visitors have been U.K.-based, while it gathers an international audience from the U.S., Canada, Germany, France and Australia. “It’s a Website that is part magazine, part shop, and I think it has everything that’s good about classical music,” explains Universal Music Group International chairman & CEO Max Hole in a statement.
The music major unveiled its Australian service with a function in central Sydney, where Decca-signed artist George Perris performed for guests.