Jimmy Iovine Says He's Not Leaving Apple

Jimmy Iovine

Music mogul Jimmy Iovine shot down rumors that he plans to exit Apple in August telling Variety that he’s committed to staying on the team and helping the company get music streaming right.

“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, who became an Apple “executive” in 2014 when the company purchased Beats Electronics from him and artist and producer Dr. Dre for a reported $2.6 billion in cash and $400 million in stock, appeared on Monday night at the Grammy Museum for a screening and Q&A to promote the Grammy-nominated HBO documentary “The Defiant Ones.”

Iovine said that, as is common with stock swaps, his Apple stock has been vesting in stages since he sold Beats, and while he confirmed the last of it will vest in August, he was displeased at the mercenary tone of recent speculation.

Speculation emerged last week that the decorated music exec would split with Apple later this year after his shares in the tech company fully vested.

“My contract is up in August, but the funny thing is, I don’t have a contract,” he said. “I have a deal, and certain things happen along that deal. The bottom line is I’m loyal to the guys at Apple. I love Apple, and I really love musicians.”

Iovine said he sees more potential in streaming music to grow to scale and become even more appealing for the industry.