Apple Music chief Jimmy Iovine expected to leave company in August
Former Interscope chief executive and Apple Music chief Jimmy Iovine, who came to Apple through its acquisition of headphone maker Beats, will reportedly leave the company later this year -- and will likely take a hefty payday with him when he does.
Citing unnamed sources, Billboard reported on Thursday that the Beats cofounder will leave Apple in August, once his shares in the company fully vest. It's unknown just how much Iovine stands to make, but Apple's purchase of Beats back in 2014 was priced at $3 billion.
Despite joining Apple officially in recent years, his relationship with the company goes back well before that, meeting cofounder Steve Jobs and executive Eddy Cue back in 2013. He recalled that first meeting in an interview last year.
"I said, 'These guys should have an entertainment company,'" Iovine recalled after meeting them. "They had all these technologies and these entertainment companies, but couldn't put it all together. Apple, of all the global tech companies, was the one that understood why artists make things."
He ended up joining Apple more than 11 years later, as Apple sought to get Apple Music off the ground with the acquisition of the Beats Music streaming service.
"We were never going to be able to scale, because the business model was very difficult, and still is," Iovine said. "I didn't think I could have finished it on my own. We knew exactly what we were doing, meaning that [joining Apple] is the outcome we wanted."
It's unknown who will take over the oversight of Apple Music in Iovine's absence, though as Billboard noted, he never had a specific title at the company.
Citing unnamed sources, Billboard reported on Thursday that the Beats cofounder will leave Apple in August, once his shares in the company fully vest. It's unknown just how much Iovine stands to make, but Apple's purchase of Beats back in 2014 was priced at $3 billion.
Despite joining Apple officially in recent years, his relationship with the company goes back well before that, meeting cofounder Steve Jobs and executive Eddy Cue back in 2013. He recalled that first meeting in an interview last year.
"I said, 'These guys should have an entertainment company,'" Iovine recalled after meeting them. "They had all these technologies and these entertainment companies, but couldn't put it all together. Apple, of all the global tech companies, was the one that understood why artists make things."
He ended up joining Apple more than 11 years later, as Apple sought to get Apple Music off the ground with the acquisition of the Beats Music streaming service.
"We were never going to be able to scale, because the business model was very difficult, and still is," Iovine said. "I didn't think I could have finished it on my own. We knew exactly what we were doing, meaning that [joining Apple] is the outcome we wanted."
It's unknown who will take over the oversight of Apple Music in Iovine's absence, though as Billboard noted, he never had a specific title at the company.
Comments
But what do I know.
What market is that exactly? Apple bought Beats at its plateau. I remember going into Best Buy years ago and seeing hardly any headphones that weren’t Beats. Not anymore. Now Best Buy is showcasing JBL, Sony, AKG, AudioTechnica, B&O, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, etc. Maybe celebrities & althletes are still big Beats users. But when I’m at the gym I see more people wearing AirPods than Beats.
So no one has actually said he’s leaving; they’re guessing he’ll leave because his shares are ripe.
That’s journalism for you.
Still, if he and Dre (is Dre still in the building) leave then I don’t think it’s a huge deal.
Not at my gym, Beats are more common by far. And remember, they were the #1 selling accessory at Apple stores. Apple made its money back the first year.
No matter how much you dislike rap music, Beats was a smash success and a slam dunk for Apple. Sorry it hurts.
"Iovine thrived by trusting his gut, often against the wishes of his superiors. While that usually worked in the freewheeling record business, that approach induced conflict at Apple."
The big name retailers used to make more money charging for “placement” than from selling the actual goods. I’ll bet a boatload of “marketing” expenses are incurred by any manufacturer paying to have its products featured at Best Buy. Major laptop vendors typically paid a branch of a store tens of thousands to feature their laptops. At 1-3% margin a store would have to sell a TON of PC laptops to get the same profit. Yet other that Macs, are laptops flying off the shelves?
Then what Best Buy pushes on its customers (a name brand or their house brand) is a matter of which item has the most commission.
My guess: Best Buy is playing one audio brand against another to see who will fight to pay Best Buy the most to “feature” their product. When Best Buy needs to justify the cost, they either shrug and say, “well online sales are causing drops in retail”, or they can promise to do better and then just jack the commission on that particular brand, to spike the sales until the watchdogs leave.
Its sad really. Not many people read enough and test products enough to force only good products to appear on the market. Manufacturers then play this stupid game of who can shout the loudest (biggest ad spend) while we are just wishing we could get good stuff and pay fair price. Who wins? Ad agencies. Who loses? Engineers and consumers.
Apple Retail doesn’t just sell lots, it saves Apple from having to pay the big box tax. When there are multiple Apple stores in every major city, and they are in great areas, like high end malls, and places that people want to go to, then Apple is no longer subject to Best Buy trying to raise the “placement” rate.
When Beats are found at every Apple Store worldwide, why would Apple even give a penny to Best Buy? Why not sink extra pennies into new retail locations?
Bloomberg couldn’t even commit itself in the URL, and is that Gurman I see on the byline? Oh, and the usual quote from unnamed sources. Bloomberg hasn’t corroborated anything; they’ve simply printed a rumour.
Though if he does go I’m not sure that would be a bad thing. I don’t think they really need him (or Dre) any more.