Jimmy Iovine Dismisses Rumors Suggesting He Plans to Leave Apple

[SeaFox]

Fake news has carried over to Apple rumors?

Isn't a rumor by definition a form of fake news? It's a report of a current or impending event based on sources that are not truly factual.

 

[citi]

Overpaid loser. Apple Music will never be taken “all the way” because it has no free tier and Spotify’s algorithms and offerings are better, tenfold.

I disagree. Apple music algorithm is pretty damn good. Also, the only people that want a free tier are the people that are too cheap to pay and apple does not want people who don't spend money. That's an android thing.

 

[rocknblogger]

I wonder if this guy actually does anything.

Are you people ****ing for real? Do you actually think that any exec just sits there playing games or just listening to music? Or sits in meetings just looking at his watch? Or makes decisions by flipping a coin?
It’s absolutely stunning how many people here think that there are execs that in essence don’t work. You people are a joke!!!

 

[SeattleMoose]

Beats was a mistake. It would be better if he left....

 

[Yojimbo007]

Jimmy BS continues...


And please dont do what Cue needs/wants.... it will be a double whammy !

 

[Solomani]

He's been with Apple for over four years, and he's still got that big smile. A good sign, I suppose.
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Apple didn’t buy beats for the headphones, the headphone from a tech side were ok at best. They bought the brand and Jimmy. Rezor and Dre followed and they both bring their own set of skills and influence to the company.

iPhone is a massive business and accounts for a huge portion of their profit. However the services that are tied the Iphone now has become even more lucrative, it’s a double dip in my eyes.

Apple Music is a long term play for them and it will live and die by deals, artists, and the charge back model to said artists. When iTunes and ipod came out everyone discounted it but it was actually music execs like iovine who made it happen and work.

Apple is a hardware company but to me they are nothing without their services business now. iPod and itunes, iPhone and App Store, soon iphone/watch with music and their iCloud service.

Well said. What other posters don't realize is that the Media/Services revenue keeps growing significantly for Apple, while the hardware departments will only plateau as time goes by. Soon if not already, everyone and their Chinese mother-in-laws will have all the iPhones they could ever want to buy.

 

[5105973]

Eh, whatever. He’s not the one who screwed up the Apple Music interface. I’m good with the content, I just wish I could arrange my music better and easier and that Siri still controlled it as well as it used to do a long time ago.

 

[ZZ9pluralZalpha]

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.

Sony grew towards the entertainment industry as well. The resulting clash in priorities arguably [nytimes.com] blinded it to the shift to completely incorporeal media, made it insist that players crippled with draconian copy protection could compete with iPod, and even convinced it that putting anti-piracy rootkits on music CDs was a good idea [wikipedia.org]. An excess of entertainment influence turned one of the world's foremost consumer technology brands into just another maker of also-ran TVs. When news items about Carpool Karaoke grossly outnumber rumors of new Macs, is it any wonder that Apple fans start to get nervous about the number of entertainment bigwigs working there?

 

[pdaholic]

Studies have shown that 9/10 women can't find the right music with competing streaming services, and young girls can't find the appropriate music when their hearts are broken by young boys. Jimmy Iovine has spent countless hours personally curating music lists for such applications, because like no one else in the music industry, he is able to identify with the mindset of a young girl.

I'm just ribbin' ya Jimmy, congrats on milking that Apple money train well into your golden years!

 

[citysnaps]

Excellent news if true!

 

[coolfactor]

So is MacRumors going to apologize for being part of the "bad press" train, spreading fake news?

 

[deadolive]

So is MacRumors going to apologize for being part of the "bad press" train, spreading fake news?

Haha. That what happens when every site copies each other’s rumors.

 

[coolfactor]

Overpaid loser. Apple Music will never be taken “all the way” because it has no free tier and Spotify’s algorithms and offerings are better, tenfold.

Ahem... you comment on someone's pay while basing that on the fact that Apple Music is not free? Not quite sure that adds up, my friend. Nothing is truly free. There's always a cost in one form or another.

 

[loby]

Fake news has carried over to Apple rumors? It doesn’t surprise me this garbage has leaped over

Uh...this is a “rumor” website....

 

[Bawstun]

I disagree. Apple music algorithm is pretty damn good. Also, the only people that want a free tier are the people that are too cheap to pay and apple does not want people who don't spend money. That's an android thing.

Disagree. You can shuffle any album on free, it’s a great way into customer loyalty and experience what they have to offer. I say this as a premium user BTW.

Spotify’s “discover weekly” continuously suggest new artists I have never heard of and perhaps would never hear of otherwise, and I actually enjoy their music. Apple Music recommends garbage or mainstream music that I’ve already heard or streamed and is generally just stuff they *know* you will enjoy, without any real risk or growth.

 

[MentalFloss]

His goal is to get streaming right? So when is he going to start? My list of complaints about Apple Music is long, and I always wonder how a company that keeps claiming that it loves music could turn a music streaming service into such a steaming mess. It does not feel like a love for music to me when I still keep getting wrong album covers or wrong versions of songs on albums. I feel the same way about getting suggestions in the „For You“ section that come straight out of some cliche toolbox but are far away from my music tastes. The heavily touted expert curation is not even amateurish in my corner of Apple Music. It is random.

So Iovine has been with Apple for four years? When does he plan to get the very basics of this service right? Because I sure as heck don‘t care for original content. For now I would already be happy if I could play album XYZ and actually be sure that I am going to hear the songs that belong on album XYZ. Wouldn‘t that be a great start?

 

[technole]

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.

Yep, Angela and Jimmy are two good reasons why Apple is even more successful under Tim Cook.

Jimmy's connections to the industry, to Angela's successful high-end retail management prowess.

 

[Bawstun]

His goal is to get streaming right? So when is he going to start? My list of complaints about Apple Music is long, and I always wonder how a company that keeps claiming that it loves music could turn a music streaming service into such a steaming mess. It does not feel like a love for music to me when I still keep getting wrong album covers or wrong versions of songs on albums. I feel the same way about getting suggestions in the „For You“ section that come straight out of some cliche toolbox but are far away from my music tastes. The heavily touted expert curation is not even amateurish in my corner of Apple Music. It is random.

So Iovine has been with Apple for four years? When does he plan to get the very basics of this service right? Because I sure as heck don‘t care for original content. For now I would already be happy if I could play album XYZ and actually be sure that I am going to hear the songs that belong on album XYZ. Wouldn‘t that be a great start?

This is why Spotify’s growth continues to eclipse Apple’s. They just wanted a placeholder to stay in the game. They don’t care how good the service is. It’s just extra money. Spotify is ONLY Spotify. That’s their focus.

 

[bobdobalina]

edit

 

[NOV]

If you are seriously about "getting streaming right" why is it that in iTunes whenever I click on an album to play, the progress bar stays indefinitely on 'Connecting'. Or those playlists (for example I try 'Electronic' often) that keeps the same 20 songs on rotation for months, like there are only a few songs per year released.

 

[lazyrighteye]

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.

Unusually refreshing perspectives.
Thanks.

 

[thekeyring]

Weird, after the report last week I just kind of accepted it as fact he was leaving. That’s how influential it is when the rumour sites post something, I guess.
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Overpaid loser. Apple Music will never be taken “all the way” because it has no free tier and Spotify’s algorithms and offerings are better, tenfold.

You might argue that it does have a free tier, because anyone can try it for 3 months, with no ads.

 

[MH01]

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.

Nothing is what it actually seems with Apple, they carefully craft their image and hide their inner politics and issues very well.

Exactly , he actually knows his industry , unlike Cook who is missing in the throttling scandal and also cannot talk in public.

They would actually be looking someone with vision . They are better off dumping CUE

 

[YaBe]

I wonder if this guy actually does anything.

He counts money all day long!

On a serious note, it is funny to see how many people pretend to know if he is or not useful for the company.... don't you think he would be fired by now if he did not bring anything worthed to the company?

 

[MH01]

I don't view him negatively like others because I have no idea what he does. He's certainly not a great public communicator, but no one at Apple is these days, save maybe Craig Federighi.

It's not like they were on a great, coherent path software-wise before he came onboard. If they had bought Tidal or any other streaming company they probably would have made a Frankenstein out of it as well by trying to combine it with iTunes, like they did Beats. And I don't think this guy does software. I think he's a deal maker and producer, so I'm not sure what he does at Apple.

Whoever made the original 2003 iTunes Music Store was GREAT at layout and user interface. That's who they need. I mean if they had that original store with the combo of "Everything in this store is now free" with a 9.99 subscription, it would have been a great combination. But even before Apple Music came along they had messed up the UI of the store and iTunes, IMO. Then they added another product on top of it. (All my comments refer to MacOS because while I have an iPhone I am now a luddite of the current era and use my Mac for mostly everything, including music.)

Exactly, apple's problems with UX design happened before the Beats aquasition, what does Cue do? Apple used to do UX, these days it's like they don't care