Jimmy Iovine to Leave Apple Music

Jimmy Iovine to Leave Apple Music in August

When Apple purchased Beats in 2014 for $3.2 billion dollars – a large part of the deal had nothing to do with headphones. Acquiring legendary Jimmy Iovine as part of the Apple team, and his high-profile connections helped Apple expand on the Beats streaming platform to turn it into Apple Music.

However, it appears Jimmy’s time with Apple is nearing its end. Billboard has reported that the recording giant plans to leave Apple in August. Why? It just so happens to be the same time that the shares he received as part of the Beats deal will fully vest. Jimmy joined the company alongside Dr. Dre and Trent Reznor, both whom still hold high ranking positions within the company.

So, what’s the big deal? It doesn’t seem that the day to day operations over at Apple will be changing anytime soon although most noteworthy, Jimmy’s departure could change how Apple negotiates with labels. Jimmy Iovine’s influence within the music industry is incredible and runs deep across all genres, generations, and different artists. Considering competition with YouTube, Amazon, and Spotify – Apple hopes for a smooth and amicable departure.

The History of Apple Music

Since the launch of Apple Music two and a half years ago, Apple has been able to build its service into a powerhouse. Boasting more than 30 million paid subscribers. Unlike Spotify, it doesn’t offer a free subscription. Annual subscriptions start at $99 a year and is the rare Apple service that is also available on Android.

Due to Jimmy’s influence it’s hard to see how involved he is in music negotiations, but his presence at the company has helped, no doubt. Apple Music has the exclusive streaming rights to albums from Taylor Swift, Frank Ocean, and Drake, to name a few. However, there is a possibility that Apple will be moving away from exclusives.

Apple is expected to pivot to non-music videos with original shows like Carpool Karaoke. It should also be noted that Apple is projected to spend $4.2 billion on original content by the year 2022.