Apple Music's Jimmy Iovine: 'Streaming Services Have a Bad Situation'

Jimmy SJ SM v1Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine sat down for an interview recently with Billboard to talk about The Defiant Ones, a four-part documentary series that focuses on the careers of both Iovine and his long-time partner Dr. Dre.

During the interview, Iovine commented on the state of the streaming music industry and the precarious position of companies focused solely on streaming music, like Spotify.

"The streaming services have a bad situation, there's no margins, they're not making any money," he said. "Amazon sells Prime; Apple sells telephones and iPads; Spotify, they're going to have to figure out a way to get that audience to buy something else. If tomorrow morning [Amazon CEO] Jeff Bezos wakes up and says, 'You know what? I heard the word "$7.99" I don't know what it means, and someone says, 'Why don't we try $7.99 for music?' Woah, guess what happens?"

Streaming music, says Iovine, is "fine" with major companies like Amazon, Apple, and Google, but it's "not a great business" for standalone companies like Spotify. "They have to figure out a way to show the road to making this a real business," he said.

Iovine went on to explain that the record industry doesn't yet know "where technology is gonna go," and that things could shift at any moment with the debut of software and hardware breakthroughs. Referencing the 8-track, cassette tape, and CD, Iovine says companies need to adapt and "figure out their role."

According to Iovine, streaming services that offer content for free undermine the music industry and present a major problem that's not something television providers like Netflix have to deal with. Streaming services all offer the same general content, making it difficult to convince customers to pay when content is available elsewhere at no cost.

"So Netflix has all that original stuff and it's $11.99," he said. "Music, everybody has everything, plus the free tiers, every song is on YouTube, so how can they charge $11.99 to a consumer? I'm like, no. I'm gonna buy this and get the music for free.... It's a massive problem."

Iovine's opinion on free music is likely one of the reasons why Apple is focusing heavily on exclusive content. Apple has purchased the rights to air multiple exclusive documentaries, and the company is working on exclusive television shows much like Netflix, with the aim of drawing in customers with original content.

So far, two shows have premiered exclusively on Apple Music: Planet of the Apps and Carpool Karaoke: The Series. Apple has other television shows in the works, including an Amazing Stories reboot with Steven Spielberg and a morning talk show drama that will star Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. Apple has not yet confirmed these new shows will be exclusive to Apple Music, but it's a possibility, and it's also possible Apple is planning on some kind of future service that offers both music and television content.

Jimmy Iovine's full interview, which goes into further detail on streaming services and covers The Defiant Ones, can be read over at Billboard.

Popular Stories

CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday April 15, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update. Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key...
tvOS 18 Thumb 1

Apple Releases tvOS 18.4.1

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released tvOS 18.4.1, a minor update to the tvOS 18 operating system that came out last September. tvOS 18.4.1 comes two weeks after Apple released tvOS 18.4, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models. tvOS 18.4.1 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software....
iPhone Security Feature 25

Five iPhone Security Features You Should Be Using

Wednesday April 16, 2025 4:15 pm PDT by
Apple has quite a few security features that it's added to iPhones, iPads, and Macs over the years. Now more than ever, it's important to make sure you're taking advantage of the built-in security tools that are available to keep yourself and your data safe, so we've rounded up a list of the most important options. If you don't already have these enabled, you might want to consider turning...
vision air cable

Images of Apple 'Vision Air' Power Cable Emerge Online

Thursday April 17, 2025 5:55 am PDT by
More images of a redesigned power cable allegedly for a future Apple "Vision Air" headset were today shared online by the prototype collector and leaker known as "Kosutami." Yesterday, the leaker explained that the Apple "Vision Air" will feature a thinner design and switch the battery enclosure and several of its internal structures to titanium to reduce the device's overall weight. Most of ...

Top Rated Comments

KazKam Avatar
97 months ago
TL;DR... "Our business model is correct. Our competitor's business model is dumb and isn't allowing us to charge our customers more for the same content."

Also, they really ned to keep this guy out of the public eye. He comes off super self-righteous, condescending, and I don't know exactly why, but a little creepy.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gatearray Avatar
97 months ago
This guy is just a smarmy creep.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
97 months ago
TL;DR... "Our business model is correct. Our competitor's business model is dumb and isn't allowing us to charge our customers more for the same content."
That's not at all what he said. What was actually said was that Spotify is in a dangerous place because they have nothing other than streaming to offer. If something happens tomorrow and Apple or Amazon drop the price of their streaming service to $1.00 a month, Spotify is out of business. Google, Amazon, and Apple would live on, as they have something else to offer. Spotify doesn't.

Iovine has been in the business a long time and understands it. It's a business that has seen a lot of change in recent years and throughout history. Betting everything on streaming remaining the only way is a fools bet. It'd be much smarter to place bets in more than just a single place.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mudflap Avatar
97 months ago
I still want to own my music. I don't need ALL THE MUSIC. Because 90% of it is garbage.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FightTheFuture Avatar
97 months ago
Someone seems a little jelly of Spotify lool
Did you read the article?
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
swingerofbirch Avatar
97 months ago
Spotify has something Apple used to: a great user interface. (On the desktop at least. I'm a luddite and rarely use phones for anything but making calls.)
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)