Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine in Talks to Join Apple as 'Special Adviser' - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine in Talks to Join Apple as 'Special Adviser'

jimmyiovineJust a couple hours after the Financial Times reported that Apple was in talks to acquire Beats Electronics, the New York Post is reporting that Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine is in talks to join Apple as a "special adviser" to Tim Cook on creative matters.

Beats Electronics boss and veteran music industry executive Jimmy Iovine is in talks to join Apple as a “special adviser” to Tim Cook on creative matters, two sources close to talks tell The Post.

Iovine is also the chairman of Universal Music Group's Interscope Geffen A&M music labels, though his contract is set to expire at the end of 2014. However, it's not clear if this is part of the potential purchase of Beats Electronics or separate from that deal.

Iovine has strong contacts in the music industry, allowing Apple to potentially leverage him for potential future negotiations with music labels. This would make him a strong addition even if Apple doesn't purchase Beats.

If Iovine does join Apple, Iovine would be the second high profile executive to join the company after former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts. The Beats CEO also has a history with Apple, having pitched Steve Jobs on a subscription music service and meeting with Apple executives about Beats Music before it launched.

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple's Next Era Begins September 1

Thursday May 7, 2026 10:36 am PDT by
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company. Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching in September With These 10 New Features

Saturday May 9, 2026 6:03 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not launching until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component will be moved under the...
Apple Watch Series 10 Jet Black Touch ID

Apple Watch Series 12 and watchOS 27: What to Expect Later This Year

Friday May 8, 2026 2:07 pm PDT by
While not too much has been reported about the next Apple Watch models, there are a few rumors about potential design changes and watchOS 27 features. Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 models are expected to be released in September, and we have outlined some of the key rumored hardware and software changes below. A new Apple Watch SE is not expected this year, as that model was...

Top Rated Comments

157 months ago
Apple is not full of stupid people. There must be a good reason for this whole deal to be going through. Without knowing all the facts we can just but guess...

It's pretty obvious. Beats must have negotiated a stellar subscription music deal with the record labels (possibly thanks to this dude's contacts in the industry). Apple wants to quickly jump on that ship, so they're snapping up the deals Beats has already signed.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Santabean2000 Avatar
157 months ago
Apple is not full of stupid people. There must be a good reason for this whole deal to be going through. Without knowing all the facts we can just but guess...
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
157 months ago
I'm not sure how many times this needs to be repeated...

APPLE IS NOT BUYING BEATS FOR ITS HEADPHONES.

APPLE IS NOT BUYING BEATS FOR ITS HEADPHONES.

APPLE IS NOT BUYING BEATS FOR ITS HEADPHONES.

APPLE IS NOT BUYING BEATS FOR ITS HEADPHONES.

Apple needs a Spotify-killer and Beats has a deal with record labels that Apple evidently wants.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
157 months ago
Hope his first piece of advice is "don't buy Beats." But somehow I doubt it.

----------

Ugh.... what's next, Apple? Gonna hire Dr. Dre too? Ughhhh :(

Haven't you heard? They're hiring a bunch of medical-types for the iWatch. Dr. Dre would be perfect :)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
157 months ago
Forget hiring Jimmy Iovine as a special advisor. Apple should hire all these keyboard CEO's and multi-billion dollars business owners that post on Macrumors who know what's best for Apple.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bighype Avatar
157 months ago
Tim Cook is slowly killing Apple. What Ballmer did to Microsoft, that's exactly what Cook's gonna do to Apple in 5 years. Just watch. The man has no vision and is easily swayed by these BS artists.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)