Apple Music hits 40 million subscribers, names new head

Apple Music just hit another milestone by hitting 40 million subscribers. On top of gaining more subscribers, the company just announced that long-time Apple executive Oliver Schusser will be taking over as the vice president of Apple Music and International Content. Schusser is said to be moving from London to California to fulfill his new role and will split his time between Apple’s offices in Cupertino and Culver City. And he will lead international teams in 38 offices. He’ll be reporting directly to Eddy Cue, who hired him 14 years ago.

Schusser has previously worked on Apple products and projects like App Store, iTunes movies and TV, iBooks, Apple Podcasts, and more. He was also said to be instrumental in Apple’s acquisition of Shazam. According to Variety, this new promotion will not impact Jimmy Iovine’s standing in the company. Iovine has previously said he plans to step back from daily operations at Apple Music.

Apple Music on Android gets update to improve playback reliability

Apple Music gets its second app update for the month to improve some playback reliability and crashing issues some users might be experiencing with the app. Version 2.4.1 fixes things like the app unexpectedly quitting when opening the Library as well as making music playback more reliable. This update comes on the heels of the app getting new music video features like background audio playback, music video playlist support, and picture-in-picture playback.

Source: 9to5Google

Jimmy Iovine rumoured to be leaving Apple Music in August

Rumour has it Apple Music is losing one of the key figures that has helped the service grow to over 30 million paying subscribers. It’s said Jimmy Iovine is set to leave Apple in August when his shares have fully vested. Iovine, the former Interscope CEO, joined Apple back in 2014 after he, together with Dr. Dre, sold Beats, both the electronics business and music service to Apple. But Iovine’s relationship with the company started back in 2003 when he first met Apple founder Steve Jobs and exec Eddy Cue. He’s considered a key proponent of Apple’s iTunes and iPod.

While neither Iovine nor Apple commented on the report, Billboard asked Iovine back in a September interview what he planned to do after Apple Music, he spoke about bringing music streaming up to speed. He disputes a report by Goldman Sachs that predicts subscription streaming would turn the global record business into a US$41 billion business by 2030. He says, “I’m 64 years old. I have no idea [what I’m doing next]. There’s just a problem here that needs some sort of solution, and I want to ­contribute to it. Goldman Sachs may think it’s solved, but I don’t. We’re not even close.”

Source: Billboard

Paid music streaming services to have bigger impact on Billboard charts in 2018

With paid streaming services changing the music landscape, it’s not surprising to us that Billboard is changing its ranking system to reflect this new reality. The streams from paid subscription services like Amazon Music and Apple Music as well as those hybrid paid/ad-supported services like Spotify and SoundCloud will have a bigger influence on Billboard’s charts in 2018.

According to a post on Billboard’s site, “Beginning in 2018, plays occurring on paid subscription-based services (such as Amazon Music and Apple Music) or on the paid subscription tiers of hybrid paid/ad-supported platforms (such as SoundCloud and Spotify) will be given more weight in chart calculations than those plays on pure ad-supported services (such as YouTube) or on the non-paid tiers of hybrid paid/ad-supported services.”