Jimmy Iovine denies reports he will leave Apple in August
He says his job in the streaming biz still isn't done.
Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine has squashed rumors that he's leaving his post as Apple Music chief -- and leaving Cupertino altogether -- in August. At a Q&A event held to promote The Defiant Ones, the HBO documentary delving into his partnership with Dr. Dre, he announced that there's still more he'd like to achieve in the streaming biz. "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," he said, contradicting Bloomberg's report that he hasn't been getting along with services chief Eddy Cue.
According to Iovine, most of his stocks vested long ago and he's not delaying his departure only because he's waiting for the rest of his stocks (a tiny portion, he said) to vest in August. He admitted that his contract is up that month, but he insisted that his time with Apple wouldn't end when that contract expires. As for how long he'll stay with the company, he could only say that he doesn't see himself still doing music at 75 -- the exec is turning 65 in March.
Before he retires, he first wants to help the company grow its streaming service and to get it right. Iovine once explained that he wants Apple Music to be more than just songs and playlists, leading to the launch of original shows like Planet of the Apps and Carpool Karaoke. He'll likely come up with more projects while he's still around in an effort to grow the service's 30 million user number to something closer to Spotify's 70 million.
