Jimmy Iovine Dismisses Rumors Suggesting He Plans to Leave Apple

Last week, rumors from several sources suggested Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine was planning to leave Apple in August following the final vesting of his stock, but Iovine yesterday told Variety that he isn't going to leave the company.

Iovine made the comments at the Grammy Museum during a Q&A session held to promote "The Defiant Ones," a documentary about his career and friendship with Dr. Dre. According to Iovine, he is committed to helping iTunes chief Eddy Cue and Apple CEO Tim Cook continue to grow Apple Music and take it "all the way."

jimmyiovinegrammymuseumvariety

"I am almost 65, have been with Apple for four years and in 2 1/2 years the [Apple Music] service has gotten to well over 30 million subscribers and Beats has continued its successful run. But there's still a lot more we'd like to do. I am committed to doing whatever Eddy [Cue], Tim [Cook] and Apple need me to do, to help wherever and however I can, to take this all the way. I am in the band."

While Iovine did confirm that the final portion of the stock he was granted when Apple acquired Beats will vest in August, he says the bulk of his stock "vested a long time ago." A tiny portion remains unvested, but it's "not what [he] thinks about."

"The bottom line is I'm loyal to the guys at Apple. I love Apple, and I really love musicians. That's why those articles annoyed me, because it had nothing to do with reality. It made it out to be all about money."

Iovine plans to continue to help the streaming music industry advance, and while he says he'll "eventually" need to slow down, that's not happening soon. His goal is to get streaming music right.

According to Iovine the streaming music industry needs to become "more interesting" to be successful, following in the footsteps of companies like Netflix with original content. Apple has been focusing heavily on original content with exclusive music-related documentaries and television shows like "Planet of the Apps" and "Carpool Karaoke: The Series," which have debuted on Apple Music, and it is delving into serious original content programming with several new TV shows on order.

Iovine first joined the Apple Music team in 2014 when Apple acquired Beats Electronics and the Beats Music streaming service, both of which were co-founded by Iovine and Dr. Dre. Iovine has a much longer history with the company, though, first pitching a subscription music service to Steve Jobs in 2003.

Though Iovine has no official title at Apple, he has been heavily involved in Apple Music since its 2015 launch and has negotiated many of the streaming deals for the service alongside Eddy Cue, Dr. Dre, Robert Kondrk, Trent Reznor, and other Apple Music execs.

Under Iovine's leadership, Apple Music has seen strong growth, with the service now boasting more than 30 million subscribers.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 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. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

iPhone Foldable Display Said to Feature iPad-Style 4:3 Aspect Ratio

Friday March 28, 2025 3:44 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming "iPhone Fold" will feature a foldable screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, according to a Chinese leaker who previously leaked the book-style device's display dimensions. The Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station claims that Apple will adopt a "roughly" 4:3 aspect ratio on the inner display in order to achieve consistency between the outer display, as well as to ensure parity...

Top Rated Comments

Schwyz Avatar
94 months ago
Man, this guy's name is always linked with bad news -- with one exception: the rumor he was leaving Apple.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Amadeo Avatar
94 months ago
He may not fit the "apple fanboy" image, but hes been in the music industry for a very long time and has a very large area of influence. He may not be able to speak well in public but dont discredit his successes because of that.
Yeah, I don't understand what everyone's problem is with him. No, he doesn't fit the typical tech nerd mold of Apple's executive team. But frankly, neither does Angela. These are new executives meant to help push the company in new and sometimes uncomfortable places. That's how you grow.

Jimmy, specifically, is exactly what you said, a music mogul. Yes, money and tech notoriety certainly help in negotiations. But having worked for someone who was/is another music mogul, and friends with Iovine, it is VERY much still an industry about relationships. All the these decision makers have more money than they know what to do with. So, sitting across the negotiation table from an old friend, who you remember from back in the days when you were both hustling to "make it," still matters a lot in this industry.

I don't think people are realizing that.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sblemmy Avatar
94 months ago
It is fine with me. Tim is the one that really has to go.
Why? TC has done a solid job as CEO. Apple's revenue stream is more stable under his leadership, and he's also diversified Apple's income portfolio (e.g., revenue from services continues to grow).
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TComm Avatar
94 months ago
It is fine with me. Tim is the one that really has to go.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TechZeke Avatar
94 months ago
Yeah, I don't understand what everyone's problem is with him. No, he doesn't fit the typical tech nerd mold of Apple's executive team. But frankly, neither does Angela. These are new executives meant to help push the company in new and sometimes uncomfortable places. That's how you grow.

Jimmy, specifically, is exactly what you said, a music mogul. Yes, money and tech notoriety certainly help in negotiations. But having worked for someone who was/is another music mogul, and friends with Iovine, it is VERY much still an industry about relationships. All the these decision makers have more money than they know what to do with. So, sitting across the negotiation table from an old friend, who you remember from back in the days when you were both hustling to "make it," still matters a lot in this industry.

I don't think people are realizing that.
To me, it would seem pretty ridiculous to want him to leave when I've never met or worked with the guy.

I think Apple knows a lot better than the armchair CEOs here on Macrumors about his value to the company.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CrazyForApple Avatar
94 months ago
I wonder if this guy actually does anything.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)