--- description: Apple officially said Wednesday it's buying Beats Electronics for $3 billion. Meet its co-founder, Jimmy Iovine. title: Everything You Need to Know About Jimmy Iovine image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce9dd193b7f5c7f2/69869138169ab02cf7279836/462299133.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 8 Things You Might Not Know About Jimmy Iovine by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 29, 2014 3:08 PM CUT  Producer Jimmy Iovine attends Moet & Chandon at The Weinstein Company's 2014 Golden Globe Awards after party Producer Jimmy Iovine attends Moet & Chandon at The Weinstein Company's 2014 Golden Globe Awards after partyMichael Kovac—Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 29, 2014 3:08 PM CUT After weeks of rumors, Apple finally announced its plans to [buy Beats Electronic for $3 billion Wednesday](http://online.wsj.com/articles/apple-to-buy-beats-1401308971 "undefined")—making co-founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine a pretty penny. While Dr. Dre is a household name, soon-to-be billion Iovine, 61, is less known to those outside of the music world. Here’s what you need to know about Apple’s latest music mogul: * First off: his last name is pronounced “eye-oh-veen.” * Iovine didn’t start at the top. Born to a longshoreman in Brooklyn, N.Y., the music mogul got his start cleaning a record studio as a teenager. * But today, Iovine is best known for co-founding Interscope Records in 1990 and acting as CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M (now to be [succeeded by John Janick](http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/record-labels/6099404/john-janick-jimmy-iovine-interscope-geffen-am "undefined")). He founded Beats Electronics with Dr. Dre in 2008. * In 2013, Iovine and Dr. Dre donated $70 million to the University of California to create the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology, and the Business of Innovation. * The record exec and producer has worked with artists ranging from Eminem to Bruce Springsteen. * In 2010, he became an in-house mentor for contestants on _American Idol._ * His relationship with Apple started years before Beats. Eddy Cue, Apple’s content chief, [told the ](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/business/media/jimmy-iovine-a-master-of-beats-lends-apple-a-skilled-ear.html "undefined")[New York](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/business/media/jimmy-iovine-a-master-of-beats-lends-apple-a-skilled-ear.html "undefined")[ _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/business/media/jimmy-iovine-a-master-of-beats-lends-apple-a-skilled-ear.html "undefined")that Iovine was a friend to Jobs and tried to convince other record producers to sell individual songs on iTunes. “Jimmy was one of the first people we showed iTunes to,” Cue said. * Iovine will now become a senior exec at Apple and will report to Cue, counseling on how people will listen to music in the future. Looking for more? Check out [TIME’s story on Iovine and Dre](http://time.com/935/dr-dre-beats/ "undefined") from January. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/135942/who-is-jimmy-iovine-beats-electronics-apple/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/135942/who-is-jimmy-iovine-beats-electronics-apple/"},"headline":"8 Things You Might Not Know About Jimmy Iovine","datePublished":"2014-05-29T15:08:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:06:30.066Z","description":"Apple officially bought Beats Electronics for $3 billion Wednesday. 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