Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine is reportedly planning to depart from Apple in August, according to the latest media reports.
Iovine joined Apple Music back in 2014 after Apple's acquisition of Beats Music and Beats Electronics. He's been working alongside Trent Reznor, Dr. Dre, Robert Kondrk, Eddy Cue, and other executives. However, his involvement in the company is apparently about to end this year.
Jimmy Iovine Leaving Apple?
Music-focused site Hits Daily Double was the first to report on Iovine's purported departure this coming August. Then, Billboard later confirmed the news after talking to sources. According to the latter, Iovine will leave Apple once the stock he bought upon joining the company is fully vested, and that will be in August.
With Iovine at the helm, Apple Music rose to roughly 30 million paid users, becoming a well-known music service. It's still well beyond leading services such as Spotify, which has 70 million monthly subscribers, but it's been going strong and seeing steady growth under Iovine.
What Next For Iovine?
It remains unclear at this point just what Iovine plans to do next if rumors of his departure from Apple turn out to be accurate. The executive would surely get a solid payout from the company and will likely get involved in various other deals and investments in the music or tech industries. However, no information is available yet in this regard.
As various reports point out, Iovine had his own vision and did not always see eye to eye with other executives such as Eddy Cue and others. With this in mind, if he does indeed plan to leave, it's unlikely that Apple would be able to persuade him to stay by coming up with some new offer.
It also remains unclear whether Apple would seek to replace Iovine, and, if so, with whom. Neither Apple nor Iovine have confirmed the news, so it's all still in the rumor state for now. A separate report from Bloomberg also bolsters claims that Iovine will leave Apple once he gets his final payout from Apple's Beats Electronics acquisition.
Iovine is a reputed and respected name in the music industry, boasting an impressive track record. He worked with top artists such as John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, U2, and more. In 1990, Iovine founded Interscope Records, which later joined Vivendi's Universal Music Group that is still among the three biggest music labels to this day.
Iovine's label worked with artists such as Dr. Dre, Lady Gaga, Eminem, the Black Eyed Peas, and more. His reputation precedes him, so leaving Apple Music would definitely not be the end of his achievements in the music scene.
Until Apple or Iovine confirm the upcoming departure, however, it's best to take rumors and reports with a grain of salt.
