Jimmy Iovine Talks With Billboard

Jimmy Iovine

Jimmy Iovine talked with Billboard about why the music industry may be too optimistic about streaming:

Getting into the weeds, Iovine went on to point out labels’ inevitable hardships over royalties derived from back catalogs amidst this new landscape. As rights for older catalog albums hit their contract reversion dates, it will be hard for labels to negotiate the type of splits they formerly took for granted. Likewise, on newer releases, artists are entering contract discussions with the leverage of millions of fans behind them already and getting better deals than ever before, he said, pounding his fist on the table to accent his point. “That’s a great thing but what I’m saying is that everybody has got an issue … the problem is not solved yet, the solution is not there. And I could poke holes in any of it, because I live it. And some of these things have got to be dealt with.”