Jimmy Iovine is reportedly stepping down as Head of Music Operations at Apple from August.
The exec will continue working at the company in a consultancy role but will step back from daily involvement with Apple Music, according to WSJ sources.
Iovine’s departure was first rumoured by Hits earlier this year but was refuted by the exec himself, who said at the time: “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.”
Iovine joined the tech firm in 2014 after it bought Beats Electronics for $3bn, which he founded alongside Dr. Dre.
The deal brought both founders in as senior advisors to Apple’s content division ahead of the launch of Apple Music in 2015.
As of February, Apple had 36 million paying subscribers worldwide.
The WSJ report raises questions over who might replace Iovine, who has been the public face of the streaming service alongside Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue.
Names in the running include VP Media Apps and Content, Robert Kondrk, and Vice President of Consumer Applications, Jeff Robbin.Music Business Worldwide
