Apple Music's Jimmy Iovine" Streaming Services 'Too Similar'

Jimmy Iovine

Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine says streaming services are too similar - and need to diversify to survive, reports the BBC.

"The streaming services are all charging $9.99 and everyone has the same music," he told the BBC.

"And it's really nice. You get whatever song you want, you get your playlists - but there's got to be more interaction between the artist and the audience.

"Sooner or later, something's got to give," he said, indicating that Apple Music wanted more original content.

Iovine, who produced records for Bruce Springsteen and U2 before founding Beats headphones and joining Apple, argues that streaming sites are still too limited in their scope.

"They're not enough as just a utility where you go there and you get the music. They have to move you, bring culture to you," he said.

"I don't think any of the services are there yet. They need to be cultural hangars for people to go to, where artists communicate with their audience.

"I'm very dedicated to that."

Iovine was speaking to the BBC a few days before the Wall Street Journal reported he would step back from day-to-day involvement in Apple's streaming business and move into a consulting role.

His rise to the top of the industry is chronicled in close detail - from the day he almost got sacked by Bruce Springsteen to the controversy he stoked by releasing records by Tupac Shakur and Marilyn Manson as the head of Interscope Records in the 1990s.