Jimmy Iovine
James Iovine (/ˈaɪ.əviːn/ EYE-ə-veen; born March 11, 1953[1]) is an American entrepreneur, former record executive, and media proprietor. He is best known as the co-founder of Interscope Records.[2] He became chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M, an umbrella music unit formed by Universal Music Group in 1999.
Jimmy Iovine
Iovine has been involved in the production of more than 250 albums.[1][3][4]
In 2006, Iovine and close friend, hip hop musician Dr. Dre, co-founded Beats Electronics. Two years later, the brand launched its first official set of headphones.[5] In late 2013, they began development for, and in 2014, launched Beats Music, which went on to become the framework for Apple Music.[6] The company was purchased by Apple Inc. for $3 billion in May 2014.[7] At the same time, Iovine vacated his positions as chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, ending his twenty-five year relationship with his label.[8]
On August 21, 2018, after initial denial, Iovine parted ways with Apple and effectively retired from the media business.[9] Despite his retirement, he is still credited or named in institutional education centers such as the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy, which inaugurated in 2013,[10] and the Iovine and Young Center, a magnet high school which opened in Los Angeles in August 2022.[11][12][13]
Early life and training[edit]
James Iovine was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, to an Italian working-class family.[14][15] His mother was a secretary and his father, Vincent "Jimmy" Iovine,[16] worked on the docks as a longshoreman. He has an older sister, born in 1946.[17] The family lived in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood.[18] His father died in 1985.[19][20]
Iovine attended Catholic school in Brooklyn,[21] graduating from the since-closed Bishop Ford Central Catholic High School and went on to attend New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice.[22] At age 19, he dropped out of college. He was introduced to music production after he met a songwriter who helped him find a job as a recording studio cleaner, and he soon began working as an engineer.[23]
Philanthropy[edit]
In May 2013, Iovine and Dr. Dre donated $70 million to the University of Southern California to create the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation.[115] The first class of the academy began in September 2014 with 31 students.[116] On October 2, 2019, the USC opened the Iovine and Young Hall.[117]
Honors and recognitions[edit]
In 2011, Iovine was honored by The Producers & Engineers Wing of the Grammy Awards. "This year we pay tribute to an industry leader, Jimmy Iovine, who has made an indelible impact as a recording engineer, producer, founder of Interscope Records, and now, entrepreneur focused on audio quality," Neil Portnow, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the governing body of the Grammy Awards, said in presenting the award.[118]
On May 17, 2013, Iovine received an honorary Doctor of Music degree[119] from the University of Southern California and gave the 2013 USC commencement address.[120]
In 2022, Iovine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Ahmet Ertegun Award category.[121]
Personal life[edit]
New York rock radio DJ Carol Miller and Iovine had a two-year relationship in the late 1970s. Miller says "Jimmy had a wonderful, close-knit Italian Catholic family from Brooklyn and Staten Island who could not have been nicer to me. It was I, the Jewish girl from Queens, who always felt silently out of place." She says her father wasn't very nice to Iovine and was against the relationship due to the differences in their religions.[122] According to Miller, the relationship ended in 1980, when Iovine began spending most of his time in California working with singer Stevie Nicks.
While producing her album Bella Donna, Iovine entered into a relationship with Nicks. The two eventually broke up in 1982. Nicks wrote the song, "Straight Back", included in the Fleetwood Mac album, Mirage, about him. According to Nicks, Iovine was an inspiration for one of her signature songs, "Edge of Seventeen". The song also became the backbone for the guitar sample used on Destiny's Child's hit single, "Bootylicious" (2001).[123] Nicks has said that Iovine's despondence from the death of his good friend John Lennon overwhelmed her, and eventually led to the end of their relationship. However, the strong emotion of the time led to the creation of "Edge of Seventeen".[124]
Iovine was married to writer, lawyer, and model Vicki Iovine since 1985 before divorcing in 2006. It was finalized in 2009; the couple have four children.[125]
In 2014, he started dating Liberty Ross, the sister of music composers Atticus and Leopold Ross.[126] They wedded in front of their Malibu beach house on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2016, with friends and family in attendance. [127]
On November 22, 2023, Iovine was accused of sexual harassment by an unnamed woman.[128] On February 15, 2024, the accuser dropped the sexual abuse case with prejudice.[129] Documents obtained by Billboard also revealed that while a summons notice was filed in November 2023, no official lawsuit had been filed against Iovine after the claim was made.[129]